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My OH has spinal osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease.
He has suffered from slipped discs since 1987 (he is now 54) and has been prescribed a selection of painkillers (mostly dihydracodeine, tramadol, etc.) and NSAIDS (Celebrex, ibuprofen, diclofenac, etc.), and pain management courses.
After literally crying out for help from the GP for something more to be done, and being told we were basically victims of a 'postcode lottery', he got to see a specialist in another area who then had to refer him to another specialist in a different area.
He finally had a spinal cord stimulator fitted in Dec.2005. He then had a laminectomy(?) in July 2006 which went drastically wrong as they cut into his spinal cord by mistake. He suffered intense pressure headaches and weakness as a result of leaking spinal fluid. This resulted in him being in hospital fo over 3 weeks insted of 48 hours, and a further operation to 'fix' it!
He also suffered from Bell's Palsy in early December 2005 which has never improved (MRI and CT scans show nothing!)
He is currently taking MST, Paracetamol, Gabapentin, Diclofenac, and Ramipril.
He has today been discharged from the hospital saying 'theres nothing more to be done'????????? (not even a yearly follow up)!
He still suffers chronic back pain and headaches and now feels totally isolated and upset that they've just given up on him. Is it possible to get a second opinion? Can he request a copy of his records? We would even consider travelling abroad.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Your OH has the right to a second opinion; contact your GP in the first instance to organise this.
The Data Protection Act 1998 applies to medical records. However, the rules are slightly different:
1. The fee for a medical records S.A.R - (Subject access request) is £10 where the records are held electronically and £50 where the records are manual, or a mixture.
2. Many NHS Trusts use their own forms for SARs, and they may ask you to complete one of these.
3. Dept of Health/NHS policy is to deal with SARs within 21 days, though the Data Protection Act allows up to 40 days.
4. The time limit clock starts after they have verified your identity and any fees have been paid.
5. The fees aren't mandatory, but are the maximum that can be charged by law.
6. If you need your GP records, you will have to submit another S.A.R - (Subject access request) to the GP or PCT.
7. You are not required to give a reason why you want your records.
8. Most Trusts won't release radiography films, MRI scans and so on; if they do, they have to be returned. However, the reports on these would be included in a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request). Unless you are skilled at interpreting medical imaging, they are probably not much use anyway!
If you are unhappy with the way things have been left, it may be helpful to ask for a meeting so that you can put any questions you have about what has happened. This can usually be arranged quite easily by contacting the Patient Advice and Liaison Team (PALS) at the hospital. Their job is to deal with patient concerns (preferably before they become complaints), and they have direct access to everyone at the hospital.
I had a mis-diagnosis on a back complaint and ended up suing and winning against the NHS for £ 1/4m (they settled earlier this year).
As part of our building and contents insurance we had legal cover thrown in - it was this through this cover that my concerns were passed onto solicitors who establised I had better than 50% chance of winning the claim - so they handled the claim at no cost to myself - and won (after 3 years).
It may be worth while initially checking policy documents to see if you have such cover in place - the cost of going it alone could be quite tough (medical reports, examinations, etc, etc).
Some Trade Unions also offer this legal service , but most solicitors in the telephone book will offer a free initial interview to assess your chances, and if they think they can win, they would also do this on no win no fee basis
Try and get some legal advice on this
I'm sorry to hear about your OH troubled times with his back.
I wonder if he needs to see the pain team rather than more orthopaedic surgeons. I often find that the holistic approach taken by some pain teams is far more helpful than a "broken?" - "operate and try to fix" approach of orthopaedic surgeons. They may look at functional rehabilitation, cognitive behavioural therapy and other psychosocial interventions to at least help him deal with his disablities and symptoms more effectively, as well as other possible pain relief measures such as nerve blocks etc.
If one GP in your practice is unhelpful try seeing other GPs who may have different strengths, or attitudes. For more detail see my comments in Sandbag's thread Chronic Back pain elsewhere in this forum.
Hope this helps
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NHS 'given up' on OH
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