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Hi in february of this year my dad became ill. He has various illness including heart condition and COPD. When he became ill he went to his gp and she at the time said she thought it was a chest infection and gave him usual antibiotics.
Over many days he deterorated very badly to the point he couldn't breath his nebulisers and inhalers were not doing anything for him and he couldnt even catch a breath resulting in me calling 999. He was rushed to hospital were they gave him drugs and kept him in over night. The doctors said it was a chest infection like the gp and he would be in for a few days at the most. On visiting him at the ward the next day we found my dad dressed and nurse telling us he could go home. Bedazzled to this i asked why so quickly when the emergency room doctor said otherwise she said he had responded to the drugs well over night and they would send him home to rest with steroid and more tablets for oral consumption.
Now i wasnt one to judge what a medical professional is saying so i said ok. We got my dad home and for about 48 he still seemed to go down hill.Lack of colour in his cheeks, laid breathing and so on.
I called for a doctor to come out it from the health centre and it was someone we had never seen before a locum and he took one look at my dad and said he needed stronger antibiotic. He prescribed the drugs and asked me if he was allergic to anything. I told him penacillin. He said ok this should be fine. It was a drug i hadnt heard before so i went to the chemist to collect and came straight home and took them upto my father. Just as i was about to give him one i frooze and noticed on the label said included penacillin so i snatched it off him and Called the pharmacy right away i explained and she checked the prescription and said yes it was penicillin drugs the doctor had prescribed. I called the health center again and demanded to speak to someone and explain what had happened and if i had given him them without realising we would be on our way to hospital. It was his gp i spoke to and she appoligised for the mistake and said she would make up a new prescription for me to collect. I collected the prescription and 24 hours later he began to become worse u could hear a weezing coming from his cheat he was pale and clamy and was hallucinating and sweating like mad it was pouting out of him. I called 999 again and back to the hospital we went. He was examined and again sent home. By this time i was raging because they said again it was a chest infection. I said a chest infection does cause hallucinations and why are you sending him home them if he still has a very bad chest infection and his temperature is souring. I got all this hospital jargon and they released him.
We got home and he was in bad shape and at whits end i called for the gp again as i wasnt satisfied with him being sent home. She came out and examined him again and told him this time she would not prescribe any drugs to him and he was to use a paper bag to blow into to control his breathing. I asked her what has this to do with his breathing and hallucinating. He was doing it right in front of her and the sweat was pouring out of him. She said i think its relating to his heart and she wanted to send him back to hospital for a ecg before she prescribed anything they would probably keep him in this time. She was rather rude and said my dad was panicking. My dad in all reality was seeing cats and dogs climbing the walls at this point and was too busy pointing at them and weezy breathing never mind panicking.
Back to the hospital we went this time he was only in a small pair of shorts and thin tshirt. The done the ecg and then discharged him i couldnt believe it. I asked the hospital for somthing to cover him up with like a sheet as it was pouring ran outside and we had to wait for taxi. They refused so i had to cover him with my jacket and got him into the taxi.
We were only home a few hours and i heard a bang when i ran upstairs he was hallucinating he was trying to tune the phone in thinking it was the television. When i asked him what he was doing he started shouting at me but he was calling me by a different name. He didnt even realise it was me. My last hope was nhs24 i called them and told them what had been happening. They said a doctor would be sent but could take a certain amount of time. We wait 20 minutes later the doctor arrived and he took one look at my dad and examined him and believed it could be septisemia and he was calling for ambulance. The ambulance arrived and they put my dad straight onto oxygen which was the first time any of the ambulance people who had been out of the various days had. The got him into the ambulance and blue lighted it all the way to accideent and emergency and rushed him straight into crash. we waited and waited and then we were allowed to see him. The emergency doctor said she didnt believe he had a chest infect but that it was pnemonia and drug posioning because they had been giving him so many different types of drugs ontop of the medication he allready had his body was trying to fight the pnemonia and the drugs were flowing about in his system not going anywhere.
I asked if we had left it any longer would he have made it through and she said she couldnt be sure. eventually after 6 weeks in hospital he recovered but still has issues and has regular scans and xrays.
Does anyone think we have a case for compensation? because the nhs24 did more for my dad in one night than his gp and that hospital did in all those days. They kept looking for the obious factor instead of beyond his health conditions. Also if that is the case would it have to be my father who started it because i am not sure if he is fit enough the whole situation traumitised him and hes very wiery of doctors now.
Reidy, I hope your Dad is feeling a lot better these days.
Thing is, and to be honest, CAG is no place to be seeking or receiving legal opinions on the prospects of succesfully prosecuting a case for clinical negligence. You are asking us to pass opinions on whether one or more trained medical practitioners might be held at fault owing to the nature of their diagnosis. This is pretty slippy territory. Who knows what tests were carried out to assist in the diagnosis, whether they were the right tests, whether additional ones should have been carreid out as well, whether those test results might reasonably justify one diagnosis and not another, and whether had other tests been carried out room for error in diagnosis would have been eliminated, narrowed ..
Do you see my point?
I'd take this one to a clinical negligence practitioner, not the CAG.
Thank you Surface. He is doing better now just very wiery.
yes i do see your point very much about a lot going on we may not know thats one of the reason i was asking about opinions. its just i noticed a few other posts in a similar situation on people asking simialr things so i didnt think when i was posting.
Thank you for your advice its very much appreciated
Reidy - I know this is very late in the day to be responding and although I think Surface has a point, there are routes for you to go down.
You need to speak to the PALS team at the hospital, or within the Local PCT. Certainly you have been through the mill and at the very least, an investigation by them would allay your fears.
Your concern is your Dad firstly and his health, but I see no problem in speaking the the Patient Liasion Service (PALS). After all, that is what they are there for. If you feel you have a case, then perhaps you certainly do.
gp and hospital negilence????
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