Hospital Issue

[Birdy100]

Hope someone can advise,

My 15year old son recently broke his wrist and was sent via ambulance to A&E and the usual checks were made xrays etc.

We were advsied by a consultant he would need wires to correct the break and the operation would be the next day so a night in hospital and surgery the next day.

After the operation we were told by the surgeon who did the operation that they managed to manipulate the bone back into place rather than wires and he had a cast from fingers to under the arm and that they wanted to see him in 1 weeks time and a letter with the date and time of appointment would be sent.

Roll on 6days later and still no appointment letter so we ring the hospital to ask about the pain my son was getting in his thumb and also about the check up.

The pain was ok as long as it wasn't pins and needles and our appointment was for 12 days after his operation as advised over the phone and a letter will be with us.

The same day as us phoning them, they leave us a message asking if we can go to the fracture clinic the next day, but unfortunately we did not hear the message until after the appointment time, so again a phone call to them asking them for an earlier appointment and they said 'no' keep to the original appointment.

Fast forward to the fracture clinic day and after 2 and half hours of waiting we are told there has been a mistake and they do not operate a fracture clinic on a Monday and they know who made the error and they have been advised of the error. We were then told we would need to rush my son through to xray etc as if anything needed to be looked at we needed it done as soon as possible as the clinics were due to close shortly.

We then see a consultant who looks at his x-rays and told us his bone had slipped and he will need to come back into hospital to have wires put in.

Operation day- consultant tells us as his wrist was left 12days in this broken state it has fused in the wrong place and his wrist may be disformed and any growing he had left has stopped as it has not fused with the 'growth plate'. He was suprised the MUA did not work and that 'did he fall' and if not his arm must have been swollen as there was a lot of space in his cast for his arm to move out of place.

At this point i asked about any long term effects as my son is hoping to go into the RAF or at least become a physical trainer, and he was not 100% sure but any problems, his wrist can be corrected at a later date and broken and rerest again.

 

My question really is should i make it known now to the hospital about my concerns or wait until his wrist has healed and see if his has any problems?

I'm annoyed we missed the left message but also could this have been avoided if they had put wires in the 1st place, had our appointment been made correctly in the first place and not 12days after his operation?

But my main concern is his future career and whether he will be able to fulfill his desire.

Thanks for reading. x

[nolegion]

If the hospital has been negligent and this causes your lad further problems down the line you have got (basically) 3 years in which to commence legal proceedings for compensation, so there is no need to’ stampede ’now, unless you feel like it.

 

But what I would do, without fail, is get copies of absolutely all your son’s hospital records to date including copy correspondence, telephone notes, and Xrays now, and keep your file ‘topped up’ scrupulously as time goes on. This can prove invaluable when obtaining legal advice, as well as enabling you to monitor progress and ask relevant questions of medics on the way.

 

I hope things go well - but it’s funny how if things turn out badly, records (and Xrays in particular) ‘can’t be found’ at later dates.

 

Some would say, speak to ‘PALS’, but in my weary experience you are more than likely just to get fobbed off. Probably sympathetically, at least superficially - or even charmingly - but fobbed off all the same. If, once you have got the records, you want to raise a complaint - above all if you doubt the competence of any continuing advice or treatment - then write directly to the Chief Executive of the Trust making it quite clear you are complaining not just 'raising a concern'.

[Birdy100]

Many Thanks for your reply.

3years is a while and it would give us time to assess if there is any long term damage.

How do i go about getting the records,would i speak to the hospital involved? Would i have to pay for the x-rays and copies of everything?

sorry for the questions, i feel i need to do the right thing now and hope nothing comes of it and he will be fine but want to cover my back if this is going to cause him issues.

Even if it is just a case of getting the right treatment to help him instead of leaving it to chance.

Again thanks.

[nolegion]

Birdy. You are entitled to copies of all medical and any other ‘personal data’ held by a hospital. These can be obtained obtained by letter requiring their production (called a ‘subject access’ request’ by the Data Protection Act1998.)

 

In my view most regrettably and unfairly, a charge can be raised, but it has to be ‘reasonable’ and is subjectto a maximum of £50.

 

There is more than one thread at CAG about this, but this link may fly:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?36564-Access-to-my-medical-records./page2

 

My wit and wisdom on the subject, for whatever it may be worth, can be found at post no.39 there.

 

It can be a real grind - but I have yet to meet a patient, or patient’s family, who regretted they had done it.

 

Best wishes.

Edited October 11, 2011 by nolegion

[Nystagmite]

How predictable - someone mentions compensation...

 

I would complain about this. It doesn't seem right that you were given an appointment at such short notice.

[Night Owl]

Hi Birdy100.

 

So sorry to hear of your appalling account.

 

Hope someone can advise,

My 15year old son recently broke his wrist and was sent via ambulance to A&E and the usual checks were made xrays etc.

We were advsied by a consultant he would need wires to correct the break and the operation would be the next day so a night in hospital and surgery the next day.

After the operation we were told by the surgeon who did the operation that they managed to manipulate the bone back into place rather than wires and he had a cast from fingers to under the arm and that they wanted to see him in 1 weeks time and a letter with the date and time of appointment would be sent.

Roll on 6days later and still no appointment letter so we ring the hospital to ask about the pain my son was getting in his thumb and also about the check up.

The pain was ok as long as it wasn't pins and needles

any fracture is painful and cause swelling, but pins and needles is associated with a trapped nerve which would need immediate medical attention to prevent permanent nerve damage

and our appointment was for 12 days after his operation as advised over the phone and a letter will be with us.

The same day as us phoning them, they leave us a message asking if we can go to the fracture clinic the next day,

this sudden appointment without speaking to the patient or the relative of the patient is not acceptable

but unfortunately we did not hear the message until after the appointment time, so again a phone call to them asking them for an earlier appointment and they said 'no' keep to the original appointment.

Fast forward to the fracture clinic day and after 2 and half hours of waiting we are told there has been a mistake and they do not operate a fracture clinic on a Monday and they know who made the error and they have been advised of the error. We were then told we would need to rush my son through to xray etc as if anything needed to be looked at we needed it done as soon as possible as the clinics were due to close shortly.

We then see a consultant who looks at his x-rays and told us his bone had slipped and he will need to come back into hospital to have wires put in.

Operation day- consultant tells us as his wrist was left 12days in this broken state it has fused in the wrong place and his wrist may be disformed and any growing he had left has stopped as it has not fused with the 'growth plate'. He was suprised the MUA did not work and that 'did he fall' and if not his arm must have been swollen as there was a lot of space in his cast for his arm to move out of place.

At this point i asked about any long term effects as my son is hoping to go into the RAF or at least become a physical trainer, and he was not 100% sure but any problems, his wrist can be corrected at a later date and broken and rerest again.

 

My question really is should i make it known now to the hospital about my concerns

yes speak to PALS

or wait until his wrist has healed and see if his has any problems? NO!

I'm annoyed we missed the left message but also could this have been avoided if they had put wires in the 1st place,

If the surgeon had a good alignment of the fracture at the time that your son had his manipulation under anaesthetic (MUA) and application of a plaster to immobilize his arm movement, then there would be no need for a general anaesthetic and K wires to stabilize the fracture.

had our appointment been made correctly in the first place and not 12days after his operation?

But my main concern is his future career and whether he will be able to fulfill his desire.

Only the Orthopaedic Surgeon can answer this, but you need to ask PALS or the Surgeon - has the delay in his follow up appointment made a difference to his full recovery and function of his wrist?

Why did the Hospital leave a message on our answer machine to book an appointment less than 24 hours in advance without speaking to the patient or the relative of the patient to check if it was convenient?

Why was there a mix up with the final fracture clinic appointment? Has this had any affect on your sons full recovery?

 

Thanks for reading. x

 

Any fracture has the potential to re-fracture if put under any physical stress or fall.

If the fracture has affected the growth plate your Orthopaedic surgeon should monitor your sons arm growth.

[Birdy100]

Hi Birdy100.

 

So sorry to hear of your appalling account.

 

 

 

Any fracture has the potential to re-fracture if put under any physical stress or fall.

If the fracture has affected the growth plate your Orthopaedic surgeon should monitor your sons arm growth.

 

Many Thanks for all your replies and it has given us a lot of food for thought.

 

Nightowl- In his first operation, we were always under the impression that he was having k-wires, as this is what we were advised due to his'type of fracture' and do not remember them saying anyhting about trying MUA first. When we were told about the MUA that had been done, to be fair we were suprised but relieved that they had managed to correct it without wires. His second operation they did let us know that it would either be k-wires and or a plate depending on what they found.

This may come as a surprise to some, but i am honestly not looking for compensation unless having the right future treatment is classed as compensation.

All we really would like is the opportunity for our son to be able to follow his career path, his GSCE choices were determined based on what career path he took and working for the RAf as a personal trainer is his path( i appreciate this may not happen with or without this incident) but i would like all the treatment he needs, wants and is entitled too which i fear we may not get if we do not let the hospital know of our concerns or knowing the full story of what went wrong if at all it did.

I understand everyone is human and mistakes are made, my son being one of the lucky ones and that is why i am confused as to how i should handle the situation.

Again Thanks.

[Night Owl]

Hi Birdy.

 

Many Thanks for all your replies and it has given us a lot of food for thought.

 

Nightowl- In his first operation, we were always under the impression that he was having k-wires, as this is what we were advised due to his'type of fracture' and do not remember them saying anyhting about trying MUA first. When we were told about the MUA that had been done, to be fair we were suprised but relieved that they had managed to correct it without wires.

If your son was prepared for a general anaesthetic then both of these procedures would be performed under X-Ray imaging. It is ultimately down to the surgeons experience on how well the fracture is aligned and stabilzed by manpulation and immobilisation in a plaster cast alone. This is a closed procedure, because the skin surface has not been broken thus minimizing the risk of infection.

Fractures can still be dislodged out of alignment even when immobilised in a plaster cast.

If the fracture is not stable, or the alignment is not considered as good, then the surgeon will drill K-Wires through the skin and through the point of fracture.

It is not uncommon for one procedure to fail and the second procedure to be performed. Each fracture, alignment and stabilization is different, without taking into account the swelling and post-operative complications.

His second operation they did let us know that it would either be k-wires and or a plate depending on what they found.

Insertion of a plate and screws to stabilize the fracture is done through an incision in the skin and again all depends on the fracture and its site.

At some point this plate would have to be removed involving another general anaesthetic.

This may come as a surprise to some, but i am honestly not looking for compensation unless having the right future treatment is classed as compensation.

All we really would like is the opportunity for our son to be able to follow his career path, his GSCE choices were determined based on what career path he took and working for the RAf as a personal trainer is his path( i appreciate this may not happen with or without this incident) but i would like all the treatment he needs, wants and is entitled too which i fear we may not get if we do not let the hospital know of our concerns or knowing the full story of what went wrong if at all it did.

I understand everyone is human and mistakes are made, my son being one of the lucky ones and that is why i am confused as to how i should handle the situation.

Again Thanks.

 

I think you must take advice from your Consultant as this fracture heals as to your sons future career plans.

Good luck.

[Birdy100]

Hi,

I thought i would just give a quick update but should have more to report from Wednesday.

He is due to have his cast off then and i am hoping to be able to sit down with the consultant as not really been able to in the last 2 appointments and really question what the future holds and what treatment/observations he will be receiving.

I have not made any complaints or consulted PALS and fingers crossed i won't need to.

I will look to update again on Wednesday but thanks everyone for your advice so far.