If my father's notes go "missing" there will be hell to pay. I'm really hoping that I can identify individuals who let my father down. I would much prefer to go after them professionally than sue the NHS.

Yes. Laziness or incompetence- it amounts to negligence in my opinion.

I suspect that the hospital were just lazy or incompetent in producing the discharge notes. Whether this ends up being dealt with through the courts or the complaints process, I am going to get an explanation for this. As my wife said, noone should be discharged from hospital in a significantly worse condition than when he went in.

I've just sent a slightly stroppy email to Surrey Social Services. When my father was admitted to the hospital where he passed away, they noted serious bruising to his back. The hospital requested a safeguarding review. I did so as well. The vast majority of the bruising had taken place whist my father was in hospital for three weeks in Bromley before he transferred to the care home where he spent six nights before going to a Surrey hospital. After my complaint I had a call from social services asking me all about my father's stay in the care home. They didn't seem too interested in his hospital stay. I had to almost insist that this was included in the review. I have now had a call regarding his stay in the care home and been given a number to ring at the hospital where he received most of the bruising. I don't really find this acceptable. I would have expected some sort of written report of the investigation and I am unhappy about having the hospital where he was injured investigating the causes of the injuries.

Have you tried www,malwarebytes.org? I've found it helpful in the past.

I buy most of my ebooks from Amazon and use Kindle for the Ipad to read them. I like Kindle but find it frustrating that you can't set up folders of books eg for fiction, business etc. I have reference books that I might need to refer to regularly but they're all in one big list in Kindle. Does anyone know of an ereader app that lets you set up folders and preferably sub folders of books? Ideally it would be one that I could use without having to convert from the Amazon file format. Thanks.

Thanks for that. It's what I thought and I've asked them the question. I'll take it to the ICO if necessary. Had a very interesting conversation with solicitors regarding the Pru complaint. They're reviewing my draft complaint letter and I should hear back in the next few days. They very clearly explained the basis on which a claim for clinical negligence could be made.

Turning back to an earlier matter. Here is the response from the London Ambulance Service over the 1hr 41 mins it took them to get an ambulance to a 92 year old man with a head injury. Please ignore the references to an earlier call. None was made because I didn't know how to call 999 from Egypt but the carer who did make the first call didn't know I hadn't been able to call. The LAS target response time for a C2 call is 30 minutes. Interestingly when you look at the target criteria, age isn't mentioned. I think the statistics they have provided are pretty meaningless. Surely it would have been more useful to provide data for calls in the local area eg South East London. I can't imagine that they send ambulances from North West London to Bromley. Also they haven't provided a category breakdown of the 574 calls within the two hour period that they mention, nor a average response time for each category. I am going to ask for this information under an FOI. Two further relatively minor points: 1) The FOI enquiry was dealt with badly. I received an email from their FOI team asking if I would accept a policy document explaining their call handling and prioritisation procedure in lieu of the statistics I originally requested. I said yes but what they have provided is nothing more than background. Interestingly, from the email correspondence, I know that it took them longer to refer the matter to their FOI office than the statutory number of days for them to reply in full! 2) They state that the call recordings can be provided under the Data Protection Act but want to charge £50. I am less concerned with getting these now but does anyone know whether this is the correct fee. I believe that they are allowed to charge this for written medical records but recordings are quite different. Thanks

Thanks. I'm going to redraft parts to reflect your comments. I'll also explicitly ask for all of his medical records whilst he was in the Pru. If the solicitor doesn't want to take over the enquiry, I'll send it to them and pursue it through the complaints process.

Comments in red below:

Comments in red:

I've just encountered this lunacy. My father passed away recently and I have inherited his house through survivorship. He was getting a 25% discount for single person occupancy. I now have to pay two full lots of council tax when my family only occupies one property. The old six month grace period was to recognise that not all newly inherited properties could be immediately sold or rented out. Councils will no doubt argue that they want to minimise the number of empty properties when in fact they are simply being parasites.

Write to your MP or better still write to him and go to see him at his surgery. He won't be able to do much but an MPs letter gets more attention than a member of the public. There are various websites out there that will send an email to your MP on your behalf.

Thanks. Comments in red below.

Thanks Mr_Mastiff. Yes, more than happy to wait for your feedback.

Apologies, spacing and fonts went a bit awry in the last post. It looks OK in Word so I'm not sure what happened.

I now have three complaints against the NHS. I imagine that some may think that I'm a serial or vexatious complainer but I'm not. My father received appalling treatment at the hands of those who we trusted to look after him. In summary the complaints are: 1) The extreme delay in getting an ambulance to him when he had a serious head injury. I have a reply from the London Ambulance Service that I will scan and post up here. 2) The failure by Kings College Hospital to put him on a geriatric care ward because he came from the wrong post code. As a result of this they didn't look after him properly and he lost his hearing aids. These were replaced and I now regard this matter as closed. However, I have a new issue with them about his diagnosis. 3) Various issues whilst he was in hospital in Bromley. I have set out the draft letter I'm proposing to send to them. I have put everything in there, including a couple of minor matters. I would appreciate any views or comments. Writing the letter was a cathartic experience and I needed to do it. However, I am happy to change the detail. Draft letter As you are aware my father, PJJ, was admitted to thePrincess Royal University Hospital (the Pru) on Tuesday 5 October. He spent the next three weeks at the hospitalon Medical Ward 3 for most of the admission. He was discharged to St George’s Nursing Home in Cobham on Tuesday 5November. He was taken to St Peter’sHospital in Chertsey on Sunday 10 November where he passed away on Saturday 16November. The cause of death wasbronchopneumonia with complications caused by vascular dementia. I sent an email to the Pru on Tuesday 29 October asking anumber of questions about my father’s diagnosis, treatment and nursingplan. I had a useful meeting with Dr Xon Wednesday 30 October. The purpose of this email is to make a formal complaintabout aspects of my father’s nursing whilst he was in the Pru. Some of these are issues that I raised in myprevious email that have become more significant now that my father has passedaway. The issues are: Admission to the Pru My father was taken to the Pru by ambulance on 5 October onthe advice of a GP who visited him at home. The GP believed that my father needed an urgent blood test. When we arrived at the hospital a blood testwas taken by the triage team. We werethen taken to a cubicle. The hospitaldoctor gave my father an intravenous antibiotic as she believed that my fathermight have had a recurrence of a previous kidney infection. At this time my father started to become agitated, confusedand ultimately quite distressed. Whenthe antibiotic treatment was complete,the doctor said that my father should go home. I attempted to help him to get dressed but he would not cooperate. When I told him that he was going home hesaid repeatedly that he was already at home. A nurse attempted to help him to get dressed but he would still notcooperate. I asked whether my father was in a suitable condition to gohome. I was told that the hospital hadno beds. As my father would not get intoa wheelchair, we attempted to guide him to the hospital exit on foot. He was clearly very confused as he didn’tunderstand why his ‘home’ had changed. He also because quite abusive and security was called to help us. Ultimately the doctor decided that it wouldbe “unsafe” for him to go home and he was admitted to the hospital. I have to say that it was extremely upsetting to see myfather behave in this way and I was astonished your staff felt it appropriateto essentially try and push him out the door. Antibiotic treatment My father was given an antibiotic as noted above. My father subsequently developed acute kidneyfailure. I was told on at least threeoccasions that the initial antibiotic caused the kidney failure. Please confirm the types and dosages of antibiotics thatwere given to my father during his admission. Please explain the clinical reason he was given antibiotics and explainany link between them and the acute kidney failure. If the antibiotics were not responsible forthe kidney failure, please explain how it developed. Dementia diagnosis Dr X told me that my father had vascular dementia on 30October. By 10 November, his dementiahad deteriorated to the point that he had extreme difficulty swallowing. I understand that this is one of the laterstages of the disease. I appreciate that the diagnosis of vascular dementia isdifficult. However, I find it hard tounderstand how someone could be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment in Mayand then progress to the most advanced stages of vascular dementia in earlyNovember with a formal diagnosis only at the end of October. I think this is particularly strange giventhat my father spent a week in Kings College Hospital in September. At that time he was also very confused. Please could you explain the steps taken by Kings CollegeHospital to determine whether my father had vascular dementia as opposed todelirium arising from a kidney infection. I appreciate that this is not a matter for the Pru as such and you maywant to deal with it separately. Nursing on MedicalWard 3 There were times when I observed apparently low staffinglevels whilst my father was on this ward. On one Sunday I was left with my father and two other patients sufferingfrom dementia opposite the nursing station with no other staff in sight forabout 30 minutes. Essentially I was leftto look after them and call out if there were any problems. Whilst I would rather not have done this, Idid not mind doing so but it did not seem like good practice. Obtaining Information As someone who works I was generally only able to visit myfather in the evening and at weekends. The evening visiting hours for Medical Ward 3 coincide with a shiftchange. This means that the staff goingoff shift are involved with handover meetings and unavailable to speak to. The new staff coming on shift have verylittle information about the patients. I,and I imagine other visitors, found this frustrating and unnecessary. Discharge Timing Following my meeting with Dr X, I identified a suitable nursinghome for my father near to my home in Surrey. Staff from the nursing home visited the Pru on Monday 4 November toundertake an assessment. I was surprised to receive a call from the hospital on 4November saying that the assessment had been completed and that my father wouldbe transferred to the home that afternoon. This was because the nursing home “wanted him to come” that day. In practice this was wholly inappropriate because his roomat the home had not been prepared and I had not had the opportunity to movesome furniture and personal items there. I spoke to the nursing home and they denied telling the hospital thatthey wanted the transfer to take place that day. It appeared to me that the hospital was unduly keen todischarge my father. Whilst this was aninconvenience and fairly minor issue, I do not think it was professional. Bruising On his admission the nursing home, the staff noticed anddocumented severe bruising to my father’s back. I have photographs that demonstrate this. My father’s discharge lettermakes no reference to this bruising. Under the heading “Wound Care” the letter says Nil but this is crossedout and replaced by “haematoma on left leg”. I was told by the hospital that my father had had two orthree falls whilst he had been in the hospital. I noticed some bruising to his skull. Noone told me about the bruising to his back. The discharge notes refer to falls under “Reasons forAdmission” but do not do so under “Mobility”. The nursing home was so concerned by this bruising that theymentioned it to me. They were alsoconcerned that the hospital had not told them formally or informally of theextent of his falls. He had another twoor three falls in the nursing home before they realised how big the problemwas. I am astonished and frankly disgusted that the dischargedocumentation was so inadequate. Itseems to have been put together in haste and without proper thought. I believe that the hospital behavednegligently in not mentioning the bruising to me and not making the scope ofproblem clear to the nursing home. On admission to St Peter’s, the nursing staff drew myattention to the bruising and made a safeguarding referral. I have also asked the safeguarding team toinvestigate this matter. Pneumonia Diagnosis During his final week in the Pru, I noticed that my fatherhad a build-up of fluid in this throat. At times he had difficulty speaking and it sometimes sounded as if hewas gargling when he was speaking. Othervisitors noticed that he had a cough and everyone noticed that he waspersistently drooling. I asked about all of these matters and was told over thephone that there wasn’t a problem. Inretrospect I believe that these were, at least in part, the early symptoms ofthe pneumonia that killed my father shortly after he was discharged from yourhospital. I require a detailed explanation setting out what steps you tookwhen I reported the symptoms to the hospital and why I was told that there wasnothing wrong. I believe that thehospital was negligent in dealing with this matter and that earlier treatmentof the problem would have prolonged my father’s life. Please note that I will not accept anassertion by you that you were not told about these matters. Insummary I am extremely unhappy with my father’s treatment whilst in the nursingof your hospital. I am copying thiscomplaint to my father’s MP, Bob Neil and to my own MP, Dominic Raab. I am also preparing a dossier setting outdetails of my father’s negligent treatment by the NHS from the beginning ofSeptember to his discharge from the Pru. This will be sent to my solicitor and to national and local newspapers.

Don't get me started about the FOI with this shower. It took them more than the maximum response time to even refer my specific FOI request to their FOI team. I know this because I received an email from their FOI officer which foolishly stated when the matter was referred to him!

It's a little different to a standard SARN. The call was regarding my father who has recently passed away. The LAS letter says that the "salient legislation is the Data Protection Act". I wasn't a party to the calls (I was out of the country at the time) and they want me to pay £50 and obtain written consent from the carer who did make the calls. It's worth mentioning that this is in relation to 999 calls made for a 92 year old who had fallen and opened a wound on his head. It took LAS 1hr 41m to get an ambulance to him.

And still this rolls on. I haven't done anything further about this. Unfortunately my father passed away a couple of weeks ago and insurance was the last thing on my mind. Apparently the claimant's solicitor has got hold of their client and they seem to be playing legal chicken with Direct Line. I am now, finally, going to report the matter to the police.

I've asked the London Ambulance Service for a recording of a 999 call made on behalf of my late father. They have said that they can provide this but there would be a charge of £50. My understanding was that the maximum charge was £10 unless, of course, there are special rules for the NHS. Could anyone clarify?

Thank you all for your kind words. My dad's funeral was yesterday and so I'm going to start getting back to normal from today. With ironic timing the London Ambulance Service response to my complaint turned up yesterday. I only read it briefly but it was a typical piece of self justifying rubbish and mealy mouthed apology. I'll post up more in due course.

Another quick update. Sadly my dad passed away yesterday. He was 92 and had had a good innings. It was very peaceful in the end and the palliative care he received in his last days was excellent. This thread began with a rant about the NHS. From his treatment at St Peter's in Chertsey I can see the NHS can actually be good sometimes. I'm going to let the dust settle for a couple of weeks but I do intend to pursue the previous issues with renewed vigour. The money aspect is now irrelevant but I do want to try to hold the system and individuals to account for their mistakes and failures. My Dad would clearly have passed away at some point but I think they may have shortened his life by at least a few months.

Thanks for this mm. I'll read thoroughly later. Unfortunately things have moved on and my father is back in hospital with a very serious chest infection and further kidney problems. The prognosis is quite poor but his vital signs are stable. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, his discharge from hospital seems to have been poorly handled. I and others drew the hospital's attention to throat problems that he seemed to be having. Initially I noticed that he sounded as if he was gargling when he spoke and others noticed a cough. These were mentioned to the hospital who said that there wasn't a problem. The hospital also failed to mention the massive bruising on his back that the nursing home found and photographed when he was admitted. None of this was recorded in his discharge documents. His new hospital has made a safeguarding referral. I really am beginning to wonder just how poorly the elderly are treated by the NHS. My father has a number of people looking out for him and he gets treated appallingly. What happens to those that don't have anyone?

Thanks mm. I hope you feel better soon.