GP+hospital appalling treatment of My mother 76 with pneumonia ...sent home still ill!

[citizenB]

layla please remember that there will be very few people on the forums over the next couple of days !

[think about it]

Layla,

 

First of all I hope your mum is making good progress and is recovering well.

 

I wanted to come back to look into this a little better and perhaps to re-assure you. I've copied a section from a patient leaflet on Pneumonia below to show you how, being sent home with anti-biotics is the first line of treatment in such a case. Hospitals are not ideal places to recover, sleep can be interrupted, surroundings are unfamiliar and in all honesty, they're not comfortable places to spend any real amount of time.

 

The leaflet is from www.patient.co.uk

 

Treatment at home

 

Treatment at home may be fine, if you are normally well and the pneumonia is not severe.

An antibiotic such as amoxicillin is prescribed when pneumonia is suspected. Bacterial infection is a common cause and antibiotics kill bacteria. Amoxicillin is usually effective against the most common causes. If it doesn't seem to be effective and your doctor suspects a less common bacterium, they may change it. If you are allergic to penicillin (amoxicillin is a type of penicillin) your doctor will prescribe an alternative that works just as well. Antibiotic treatment is usually effective and you can expect to recover fully. Symptoms should improve after 3 days if the treatment is working. You may feel tired for a while after the infection has cleared. If the symptoms persist longer than 3 weeks, you should ask your doctor to check you again.

Have lots to drink, to avoid becoming dehydrated.

Take regular paracetamol to ease fever and headaches.

Let a doctor know if symptoms do not improve over the following three days.

Hospital treatment

 

Hospital admission may be advised if you have severe pneumonia, or if symptoms do not quickly improve after you have started antibiotic treatment. Also, you are more likely to be treated in hospital if you are already in poor health, or if an infection with a more serious infecting germ is suspected. For example, if infection with Legionella pneumophila (the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease) is suspected.

• A chest X-ray may be taken to confirm the diagnosis and the extent of the infection.
  
• Blood tests and sputum tests may be taken to find which bacterium is causing the pneumonia. This helps to decide which antibiotic is best to use. Sometimes the bacterium that is causing the pneumonia is resistant to the first antibiotic. A switch to another antibiotic is sometimes needed.
  
• Sometimes oxygen and other supportive treatments are needed if you have severe pneumonia. Those who become severely unwell may need treatment in an intensive care unit.
  
• When you return home, even though the infection is treated, you may feel tired and unwell for some time.
  

Now, when reading this and indeed the whole leaflet if you choose to, please bear in mind that the severity of an infection isn't based on someone looking over someone and saying 'yes, that's pretty severe' but from the tests detailed above. I have no doubt in my mind that your mum felt absolutely dreadful and that, as I would be, you were very worried.

 

However, sometimes being sent home is the best option - the surroundings are comfortable and familiar and mum is less likely to be exposed to other illnesses whilst she is already weak. We often see how, over the festive period, even the most unwell patients prefer to be discharged to spend their time with their families.

 

As Conniff asked, one thing that's worth thinking about now is what you hope to achieve in making the complaint. I make it my business to ask patients here exactly the same question. It's because I might spend days investigating something when all the person wants is an apology, or the converse where they feel an apology is insufficient and want dates / times and reasons as to what happened and when. Someone else will undoubtedly come along and explain the to and fro of making a claim for compensation and I don't feel best qualified to comment on what 'makes a case' so, as you write you letter, think about what your preferred or intended outcome is.

 

Again, I hope your Mum is on the mend.

 

TAI.

[Purpleflowers 2]

I really need the expert advice here from you guys, to help me write a complaint letter against a GP .

 

1. In Dec 2014 my elderly mum went to see the GP, who told her nothing is wrong with you, go home and just take paracemtols. Later the same day my mums condition deteriorate, so she went back to see the GP. This time I went in with my sister as my mum could hardly walk and we had to hold her by the arms to help in walk. Inside the GP's room, the same GP my mum had seen earlier in the day, told us she "just has a cold/virual infection, go take parecetamol". He also said " telling her 'Your wasting time going to the hospital - disgraceful and unproffesional. I said she's showing signs of Pneumonia and I demanded he send her to the hospital, because she was in a very bad way. He said "your wasting your your time, all they will give is parectamol". I demanded he send my mom to hospital, so he relunctly provided a letter and admitted it was my mom had Pneomonia. The letter we were to show the hospital.

 

 

2. Once in the hospital ward, we gave the letter to someone working the ward and were told to wait. Over 2hrs passed and after repeatedly asking to help my mum. We were told the GP had sent us to the wrong ward!! and not the ward for the elderly.

 

 

3 Once in the correct ward, we ended up waiting and waiting and were eventually told "Your mums names is at the bottom of the list!!!

 

She was kept in for overnight, put on a drip and given medican

 

All above was on Dec 2014

-----

 

Now in Oct 2016 my mums health deteriorated, she went back and it was the same GP (she saw in Dec 2014) - my mum was begging him to send her to hospital, her chest felt like it was fire, she was wheezing, had phelgm stuck to her chest, But the GP said NO! My mum was begging him for medication or send her to the hospital but he said "Its not Pneumonia and I'm not giving you anything" - so my mum went home!!

 

 

Since Oct 2016 (after her visit to the GP) in Oct 2016, my mums health deteriorated and just last week, she was strugling to breath and an abulance was cold out, She had phelgm stuck to her lungs, and the narrowing of chest and windpipe, she now has COPD because of the se the serious and repeated mistakes the GP has made, he ignored my mums serious condition whenever she went to see him.

 

Please someone help me write a really good complaint letter

[BazzaS]

Was your Mum ever a smoker?

 

If so, how many "pack years" did she smoke?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack-year

 

An issue you may face is in establishing it is the GP's actions that have caused the COPD. Proving that COPD in October 2016 was caused by events in December 2014 will be tricky, even if she was never a smoker.

[unclebulgaria67]

For a complaint letter, you need to stop thinking emotionally and stick to facts. Your post is a story driven by emotion and this stops you putting forward a clear explanation.

 

For example.

 

I demanded he send my mom to hospital, so he relunctly provided a letter and admitted it was my mom had Pneomonia. The letter we were to show the hospital.

 

In bold i have highlighted a part, i don't understand. Did the Doctor know about the Pneumonia in the letter to the Hospital, but you just disagreed about the treatment needed ?

 

You need to explain what checks the Doctor carried out and her medical history. Perhaps a Doctor on hearing mild signs of Pneumonia might suggest plenty of bed rest and Paracetomol.

 

If everyone with signs of illness was referred to hospitals they would not be able to cope with demand. You need to clearly explain why your Mothers health was so bad, she needed urgent Hospital treatment.

 

We have all been placed in this type of situation, where a relative has received little help from Doctors and thought that they could have done better. But for a complaint to succeed, you need to clearly explain it in more detail, so any Doctor reviewing your complain can see whether any checks were missed, about your Mothers medical history that might have been relevant.

[BazzaS]

Needs a merge with:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?438487-My-mother-76-with-pneumonia-treated-appalling-by-GP-hospital...sent-home-still-ill!/page2

 

Nothing new here from that previous thread?

[honeybee13]

Thank you Bazza.

 

Threads merged to keep the history together.

 

HB

[goodatresearch]

COPD can be a very tricky diagnosis and is frequently wrongly diagnosed as pneumonia (even with the benefit of x rays and breathing tests). It's usually caused by smoking, pollution and/ or working in certain industries. It is not caused by medical negligence.

 

I really need the expert advice here from you guys, to help me write a complaint letter against a GP .

 

1. In Dec 2014 my elderly mum went to see the GP, who told her nothing is wrong with you, go home and just take paracemtols. Later the same day my mums condition deteriorate, so she went back to see the GP. This time I went in with my sister as my mum could hardly walk and we had to hold her by the arms to help in walk. Inside the GP's room, the same GP my mum had seen earlier in the day, told us she "just has a cold/virual infection, go take parecetamol". He also said " telling her 'Your wasting time going to the hospital - disgraceful and unproffesional. I said she's showing signs of Pneumonia and I demanded he send her to the hospital, because she was in a very bad way. He said "your wasting your your time, all they will give is parectamol". I demanded he send my mom to hospital, so he relunctly provided a letter and admitted it was my mom had Pneomonia. The letter we were to show the hospital.

 

 

2. Once in the hospital ward, we gave the letter to someone working the ward and were told to wait. Over 2hrs passed and after repeatedly asking to help my mum. We were told the GP had sent us to the wrong ward!! and not the ward for the elderly.

 

 

3 Once in the correct ward, we ended up waiting and waiting and were eventually told "Your mums names is at the bottom of the list!!!

 

She was kept in for overnight, put on a drip and given medican

 

All above was on Dec 2014

-----

 

Now in Oct 2016 my mums health deteriorated, she went back and it was the same GP (she saw in Dec 2014) - my mum was begging him to send her to hospital, her chest felt like it was fire, she was wheezing, had phelgm stuck to her chest, But the GP said NO! My mum was begging him for medication or send her to the hospital but he said "Its not Pneumonia and I'm not giving you anything" - so my mum went home!!

 

 

Since Oct 2016 (after her visit to the GP) in Oct 2016, my mums health deteriorated and just last week, she was strugling to breath and an abulance was cold out, She had phelgm stuck to her lungs, and the narrowing of chest and windpipe, she now has COPD because of the se the serious and repeated mistakes the GP has made, he ignored my mums serious condition whenever she went to see him.

 

Please someone help me write a really good complaint letter

[Purpleflowers 2]

Sorry been away from the forum for a while, but now I am ready to get this complaint letter drafted up with everyones help here.

 

In reply to your question below, the GP had sent my mother home the previous week for 'cold/virus' and only gave her paracetamol, a week later her condition was worse, I went with her to the GP and he tried to fobb me off saying my mom had a 'cold/virus' and there was nothing he could do and going to the hospital was a waste of time - the way he came across/his tone of voice was very negative. I stood my ground, told the GP to check my mums chest (it was crackling very loud with her coughing) and I said I think its Pneumonia, he refused at first and only after I pressured him he checked!

 

I said she shows signs of Pneumonia. Only and only after I told the GP my mum had signs of Pneumonia, the GP confirmed my mum had Pneumonia in her right lung. - This shows the GP oringinally lied, did not want to take resposibility and wanted to send my home.

 

Because of her age, she was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with COPD this is in 2014 - since then this same GP has been reluctant to give the correct treatment to my mother, whenever she has seen him - he always tells her its a ''virus and I won't give you anything'

 

Last year her chest was crackling loudly for 1-2 weeks, she went to the same GP who said the same thing 'I won't give you anything' - my mum begged the GP to help her and give her some medicine or send her to hospital - her refused. He should have known my mum was diagnoised with COPD in 2014 and he should have taken greater care in diagnosing her condition that day - but he did not. The staff nurse last year told me my mums lungs are damaged - why did her GP as a proffesional keep sending her home, he did failed to diagnose or did not care and kept sending my mum home!

 

That same week year, I had to call am abulance at night, because my mums condition got worse, the Parademics gave her oxygen, as her breathing was not stable, her BP was just over 200, she was drenched in sweat. They suspected it could be a heart attack and gave her some medication under the tongue and took her straight to the hospital where they did blood tests, heart/lung tests etc, they put her on drip and gave her a Nebuliser through the oxygen mask (when she was discharged, the hospital gave my mum a Nebuliser Machine to take home to help open the lungs, as they said the lungs have been damaged) - Damaged because the GP since 2014 did not take the appropriate action.

 

My mum was placed on a COPD pathway where nurses came to visit/check mum at home for weeks after she was discharged from the hospital. The looks were damaged/weak and the phlelgm was stuck like tar to the lungs and would not come out. I told these nurses it was the GP's fault just fobbing my mum off with 'you've got a virus' each time she went. The nurses were aware of this and one did said it was the GP's fault, he should have sent my mum to hospital prior to mums condition getting worse in 2014 - when she was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with COPD.

 

When my mum had was ill in 2014 - the GP failed to do the appropriate checks, GP should have picked up it was a chest condition and taking in to account my mums age, should have taken the right course of treatment - but he did not and mums lungs got worse.

 

On a reorded conversation a few weeks ago I rang the GP and managed to get through to him, I said its all your fault my mum got damaged lungs/COPD etc. you kept sending her home for just a 'virus' and I have him on record saying 'I admit its my fault...' - so he finally admitted its his fault!

 

Now I need someone here to help me draft up a letter of complaint to the GP practice and one to the NHS regarding the actions of this GP.

 

 

 

 

 

A doctor at a GP surgery does not make the diagnosis when hospital is in the picture, he gives his suspicion and the hospital makes the diagnosis.

You said in your initial post that it was you who said she had pneumonia not the doctor, unless your are medically trained I don't know why your would say such a thing.

[unclebulgaria67]

Starting point with a complaint is for your Mum to obtain a fully copy of her patient records from the GP practice. The practice will have a process for this.

 

Once you have the full records, it is then pinpointing exact situations that could have been handled better by the GP.

[Purpleflowers 2]

O.k, can I get request these on behalf of my mum, is there a template I can use to take to the surgery, the surgery receptionists are very akward, what if they refuse to take the printed request and insist on my mum coming to the surgery in person?

 

The incident in 2014 is approaching 3 years but the other incidents are not nearly 3 years - in other words the GP's have been ongoing since 2014, so do you think its worth drafting a letter now and sending that in or get the medical notes and if the 2014 incident is missed because its nearing 3 years deadline, then focus on other incidents after 2014?

 

I did ring the surgery for the cost of medical notes, the receptionist was very awkeward not wanting to tell me what the process was and kept saying the person who deals with it is on holiday.

 

 

Starting point with a complaint is for your Mum to obtain a fully copy of her patient records from the GP practice. The practice will have a process for this.

 

Once you have the full records, it is then pinpointing exact situations that could have been handled better by the GP.

[unclebulgaria67]

On the GP website, there should be page about getting hold of records. There is a standard form which the NHS uses. I am sure you can find it if you searched.

 

If there is a 3 year limitation period issue, there is no harm in your Mum registering an initial complaint about a specific issue.

 

Where are you going with this ? Are you looking to sue the GP or go through the complaints process ? What are you hoping to achieve ?

[Purpleflowers 2]

I agree with you regards registering an initial complaint against the GP so it does not fall outside the 3 deadline, then the other complaints I can do once I have the medical records, would you say this is the way to go about this?

 

I want thisGP be taken into account for his medical negligence towards my mum over a long period of time, but I have him on a recording saying 'its my fault' - so he's admitted it.

 

So he can't do the same to other patients, even on the surgery website he has a whole list of negative reports from other patients, so its not a new thing. He's gone downhill and is now complacent, so go the complaint route and if I was to try to sue, is that a different process compared to logging a complaint?

 

 

On the GP website, there should be page about getting hold of records. There is a standard form which the NHS uses. I am sure you can find it if you searched.

 

If there is a 3 year limitation period issue, there is no harm in your Mum registering an initial complaint about a specific issue.

 

Where are you going with this ? Are you looking to sue the GP or go through the complaints process ? What are you hoping to achieve ?

[BazzaS]

I note that you never answered / addressed my query from December 2016

 

Was your Mum ever a smoker?

 

If so, how many "pack years" did she smoke?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack-year

 

 

Given that what is felt to be pneumonia is sometimes COPD (and vice versa : sometimes it is impossible to tell the difference without a chest X ray or other imaging), and that you can have pneumonia even if you don;t have COPS (and again, vice versa) .....

 

An issue you may face is in establishing it is the GP's actions that have caused the COPD. Proving that COPD in October 2016 was caused by events in December 2014 will be tricky, even if she was never a smoker.

 

I also have to wonder what it is you want to achieve by complaining, both as:

a) it will help make sure the complaint is focused towards you getting what you want to achieve, but also

b)

i) You said in December 2014 you were going to write a complaint,

ii) You said in December 2016 you were going to write a complaint:

If this was really about you making sure 'the system improves' : surely the time to do so was in December 2014 (and /) or December 2016 .......

 

 

O.k, can I get request these on behalf of my mum, is there a template I can use to take to the surgery, the surgery receptionists are very akward, what if they refuse to take the printed request and insist on my mum coming to the surgery in person?

 

The incident in 2014 is approaching 3 years but the other incidents are not nearly 3 years - in other words the GP's have been ongoing since 2014, so do you think its worth drafting a letter now and sending that in or get the medical notes and if the 2014 incident is missed because its nearing 3 years deadline, then focus on other incidents after 2014?

 

I did ring the surgery for the cost of medical notes, the receptionist was very awkeward not wanting to tell me what the process was and kept saying the person who deals with it is on holiday.

 

Contact the GP's again. Note that their process shouldn't rely on one person (people take leave and go off sick .....), and that you were thinking of complaining to NHS England anyway (assuming you are in England ... otherwise the equivalent for where the practice is based).

Say words to the effect of "Of course, now I'll have to point out that your complaints / Data Subject Access Request process is flawed, too : if it is that the practice manager isn't available to deal with this, you might want to let the Senior Partner know that it is creating an NHS England complaint, both regarding the clinical complaint, and the process issue ...."

 

So he can't do the same to other patients, even on the surgery website he has a whole list of negative reports from other patients, so its not a new thing. He's gone downhill and is now complacent, so go the complaint route and if I was to try to sue, is that a different process compared to logging a complaint?

 

Complaints and suing are 2 independent processes.

 

Complaints got either to the practice, or NHS England.

 

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/complaints-and-feedback/Pages/nhs-complaints.aspx

 

You can't sue on your mother's behalf, she (or her estate if she dies before the complaint commences) needs to do so within 2 years of the event / harm (or 'constructive knowledge' of the event / harm).

[BazzaS]

You can't sue on your mother's behalf, she (or her estate if she dies before the complaint commences) needs to do so within 2 years of the event / harm (or 'constructive knowledge' of the event / harm).

 

Make that 3 years.

[unclebulgaria67]

Get the initial complaint registered. And make request for records.

 

You are probably best to follow the complaints process. Going down a court route is probably too costly, risky and time consuming.

 

I have some sympathy for GP's, as they have an impossible task, as they are under pressure not to send people to hospital unless necessary. My Mums GP sent her to hospital, but the hospital Doctors were clueless about what the issue was and she was released within days still not very well. Then had to be readmitted to hospital a few weeks later, where she died about a month later. Hospital Doctors can be even more clueless than GP's. People as they get older do suffer from medical conditions, which either reduce quality of life or lead to death. The NHS is a rationed system and they won't spend unlimited sums of money on tests or medical procedures. My Dads brother lived over 20 years longer than he would have done, because he was a multi millionaire and could afford the best private care. If it had been NHS, he would not have had the extra 20 years.

[BazzaS]

Hospital Doctors can be even more clueless than GP's.

 

Hospital doctors can have better access to tests / investigations than GP's, and better access to consults / opinions from other specialities.

(Commissioning groups have realised this can lead to GP's referring patients "just for tests", so have brought in 'direct access' schemes, so the situation for GP instigated tests is much better than it used to be........)

 

Hospital doctors can be of varying seniority / experience.

I was always bemused by people "going to A&E for a 2nd opinion", where the A&E doctor might be much less experienced than the GP

(Fair enough if it is A&E middle Grade / senior or for an "'A&E illness', rather than a 'GP illness'", but how often is this the case?)

 

So, if they are "clueless" depends on factors such as the underlying problem, the tests which would be useful (if any!), and the seniority / experience of the practitioner.

Ohh, and on the competence of the practitioner.

Sometimes they are "clueless" due to the situation, sometimes clueless because they are, well, clueless ......

[unclebulgaria67]

Hospital doctors can have better access to tests / investigations than GP's, and better access to consults / opinions from other specialities.

(Commissioning groups have realised this can lead to GP's referring patients "just for tests", so have brought in 'direct access' schemes, so the situation for GP instigated tests is much better than it used to be........)

 

Hospital doctors can be of varying seniority / experience.

I was always bemused by people "going to A&E for a 2nd opinion", where the A&E doctor might be much less experienced than the GP

(Fair enough if it is A&E middle Grade / senior or for an "'A&E illness', rather than a 'GP illness'", but how often is this the case?)

 

So, if they are "clueless" depends on factors such as the underlying problem, the tests which would be useful (if any!), and the seniority / experience of the practitioner.

Ohh, and on the competence of the practitioner.

Sometimes they are "clueless" due to the situation, sometimes clueless because they are, well, clueless ......

 

Yes all totally valid points. It does depend on exact issue. With my Mum, it was an undiagnosed heart condition that could not be picked up by the tests they had at the time. This was back in the 90's and i think they have much better equipment these days.

 

My point about Hospitals which I think is still relevant today. Every relative thinks their Mum/Dad etc in Hospital should have priority. But the Doctors running each ward have so many patients they are responsible for and they can only do so much. The consulant responsible for my Mums care, had about 99 other patients spread over 3 wards. The consultant had junior Doctors under their control in each ward dealing with general day to day care. In a private Hospital with fewer patients, they have much more time to properly diagnose the problem, as they don't have hundreds of patients competing for tests, Consultant time, operating theatre etc.

 

Going back to the OP's complaint, the question is whether the GP's judgement really had any consequences, that caused suffering more than they would have done anyway. A GP can only make a judgement on what they see at the time as they don't work in hindsight with information that is revealed later. I suspect most complaints are made with hindsight information, that the GP could not have known at the time and referral to hospital was not seen as necessary based on their assessment.

[Surfer01]

I am very happy with our NHS where we have competent doctors and the service is FREE! Where we lived in Africa this sort of hospital treatment would have been unaffordable!

[BazzaS]

I am very happy with our NHS where we have competent doctors and the service is FREE! Where we lived in Africa this sort of hospital treatment would have been unaffordable!

 

Absolutely. Praise the NHS for what it does and does well.

It isn't "free", though : just "free at point of delivery", for most things....

 

So, praise its strengths, and defend its ideals.

That shouldn't prevent complaints though, as justified complaints are opportunities for improvement.

[Purpleflowers 2]

This GP's judgement had consequences that caused suffering to your mother, she was wrongly sent to the wrong ward by your GP and made to wait for hours, when you have clearly said that when you raised the issue of when your mum would been seen, she was suffering from pneumonia, high temperature, feeling faint, crackling cough - which is a sign that there is fluid in the lungs. So your mum was sent to the wrong by your own GP, this is serious and you need to raise this in your complaint.

 

Coupled with the fact you state, your GP insisted on sending your mum home at the GP surgery and I feel, this would have happened, if you were not there and insisted on your GP to check her lungs after doing so, you say your GP confirmed she had Pneumonia. This raises a serious question, why did your GP let your mums condition go answered in her priors visit(s) to him? - This is GP lack of care, a serious issue.

 

Your GP should have conducted checked your mums lung in her prior visit to him, he did not, which led to the Pneumonia developing further.

The GP has no excuse whatsover, you need to complain and get an initial complaint drafted up.

 

Regardless of the 'pressures' GP's have in this case your GP failed in his duty of care

[BazzaS]

crackling cough - which is a sign that there is fluid in the lungs.

............

 

Regardless of the 'pressures' GP's have in this case your GP failed in his duty of care

 

We just don't know that the GP breached their duty of care.

 

Back in December 2016 I noted (and asked)

Was your Mum ever a smoker?

 

If so, how many "pack years" did she smoke?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack-year

 

 

 

The OP hasn't answered about smoking, and 'pack-years'.

For a 76-year old with a 40 pack-year smoking history, crackles and cough would be the expectation.........

 

"Crackling cough is a sign there is fluid in the lungs" : again you just don't know that ........... nor that "crackling cough = pneumonia" in case you want to claim that too.

 

People with COPD can have chest crackles, and coughs. Pneumonia is different to "fluid in the lungs". Penumonia is consolidation (solid, rather than fluid), whereas there can be 'fluid in the lungs' ('pulmonary oedema'') that is unrelated to infection.

 

As I noted previously:

 

An issue you may face is in establishing it is the GP's actions that have caused the COPD. Proving that COPD in October 2016 was caused by events in December 2014 will be tricky, even if she was never a smoker.

[Purpleflowers 2]

It appears your mother had been ill with other health related issues some years and had tried various medication. In 2014, your mother became ill. As she was already taking medication, she was more susceptible to infection and the GP should have been aware of this.

 

Your GP from the practice she attended diagnosed her with a 'virus' and prescribed paracetamol (on her prior visit). The medication didn’t work and the lady became so ill that she couldn’t lie down as she was struggling to breath, so she went back to your GP after 1-2 weeks as her condition got worse.

 

 

Your mum visited the same GP again, without making any examination. he recommended that she take paracetamol but you stood your ground and told the GP you thought your mum has Pneumonia. The GP now aware you were not going to go away checked your mother with the stethoscope admitted it was Pneumonia.

 

Your GP gives you a letter which tells you to go to the wrong ward, this takes up valuable time, when he should have sent you to the elderly patient ward where your mum would been given prompt attention.

 

This shows your GP's lack of care and lack of knowledge.

 

Only after you kept on asking on the ward where you had been waiting a few hours, why no one had come to see your mum, does a member of staff realise your your GP has sent your mum to the wrong ward and she's towards the bottom of the waiting list. Yout mum is taken to the elderly ward, where she is diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia etc.

 

On your mums first visit alone to your GP he, sent your mother home without doing “basic” tests. Your GP failed to perform a percussion test, which involves tapping fingers on the chest to inspect for infection. Neither did he refer her to a paediatrician for an X-ray, which would also have been likely to detect the illness.

 

Your GP breached their duty of care.

Edited August 26, 2017 by Purpleflowers 2

[Purpleflowers 2]

He failed to treat an illness within his remit. This in itself is a breach of GMC guidelines.

 

Don't worry about the exact dates of events at this stage if you don't have them, just get the initial complaint in before the deadline!!

Edited August 26, 2017 by Purpleflowers 2

[BazzaS]

Your GP gives you a letter which tells you to go to the wrong ward, this takes up valuable time, when he should have sent you to the elderly patient ward where your mum would been given prompt attention.

 

This shows your GP's lack of care and lack of knowledge.

 

Only after you kept on asking on the ward where you had been waiting a few hours, why no one had come to see your mum, does a member of staff realise your your GP has sent your mum to the wrong ward and she's towards the bottom of the waiting list. Yout mum is taken to the elderly ward, where she is diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia etc.

 

On your mums first visit alone to your GP he, sent your mother home without doing “basic” tests. Your GP failed to perform a percussion test, which involves tapping fingers on the chest to inspect for infection. Neither did he refer her to a paediatrician for an X-ray, which would also have been likely to detect the illness.

 

Your GP breached their duty of care.

 

For a start, some units have a combined medical assessment unit, and only after assessment do patients get sent to a medical ward or care of the elderly ward, so we can't be sure the GP "sent her to the wrong ward".

Follow that with that even if he did send her to the wrong ward, that should have been picked up on at the stage where she was booked into the ward on arrival, making it likely that it was the right place to send her (at least initially), or that it isn't the GP's error alone .......

 

Percussion? an essential test (yet, only essential if you are doing your medical school finals, or the MRCP practical exam).

However, if the GP has used their stethoscope, and reached a diagnosis, how is percussing essential? would it have changed anything (considering he referred her to hospital). Where is the harm caused by the absence of percussion?.

 

"Neither did he refer her to a paediatrician for an X-ray" ; a paediatrician?? I suppose that could be a typo but lets follow the "should have got an X-ray" path .....

 

What planet are you on?. If a GP's empirical diagnosis is of a community acquired pneumonia suitable for home antibiotics, why is an X-ray needed?

If the GP has decided to refer a patient to hospital, who can decide if an X-ray is needed, why does the GP need to arrange an X-ray?.

 

The thing is, it is possible the GP did wrong.

 

To get them held to account if they did do wrong, get access to the notes, get the information reviewed, and complain about what they did wrong.

Random complaints, including about what they haven't done wrong won't get them held to account. It risks the complaint being dismissed as unfounded, as what they might have done wrong gets submerged in the tidal wave of what is being complained about that gets seen as "unwarranted complaint"!