;)Well Done Jules;-) I have read your thread with interest, and now interest is all I'm waiting for from Clydesdale. I shall keep pushing! All the best in Round Two!

I have just realised that I didn't answer your main question - who do you ask for a second opinion. If that is really what you feel you need then the first port of call is once again your GP who is perfectly entitled to refer you to another consultant or hospital for opinion, either on the NHS or privately. If your GP refuses because he does not see a clinical need (which he is also entitled to do) then you should discuss with him why he feels that is the case. Once again communication between you, your daughter, and the doctor or doctors concerned needs to be open, frank, and non-confrontational if possible. I wonder if she needs to be seen by the obstetric team if there is any concern about post operative infection - this may need more than just random antibiotics, and the surgeons are best able to decide if there is a serious infection or not Remember the GP and the consultant probably want your daughter and grandchildren to be be well as much as you do. Get Well Soon, and hope this helps!

I have put in the alllocation questionaire with the new 14 day limit suggested draft order. I was about to spend hours doing court bundles for 14 days later until I read a few more threads and realised that I don't have to do that until the draft order is issued. I think I might start getting the bundle ready anyway, so I am nimble on my feet and ready to roll if the draft order is accepted......

Hi, I write as a GP with a special interest in back pain, and some experience working in spinal surgery as a junior doctor. Broadly speaking the acute treatment of back pain with sciatica is: Drugs, Physical treatments, Nerve Stimulation, Nerve Blocks, Psychologiacal therapy, and Surgery, in that order. Drugs include simple painkillers (paracetamol, codeine, tramadol), antiinflammatory painkillers (Ibuprofen, diclofenac), antispasmodics (like diazepam), and if nerve pain (sciatica, slipped / herniated discs) is involved then you can try some form of "neuromodulator" - like Amitriptyline or Gabapentin - drugs which affect how nerve cells conduct electrical signals and how signals are transmitted from one nerve to another. Neuromodulators work by changing how the celll grows, so they take 1-2 weeks before you see much benefit. Physical treatments include GRADUATED EXERCISE. This is vital. Lying in bed and keeping still makes pain worse and longer lasting. Walking, swimmming and cycling are all recommended. Exercise should be gradually increased as pain allows. Other phsyical treatments include local heat (eg a hot water bottle) to relive muscle spasm, physiotherapy, and chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation. Nerves stimulation uses a device called a TENS machine that gives small electrical signals to nerves in the affected leg. The idea is that this painless stimulus overides the painful one - a bit like rubbing near a sore area, or those tight copper bracelets, but more scientific! Nerve blocks involve injections into the back itself to freeze the affected nerves. You would need a consultant pain specialist or orthopaedic surgeon to do these. Psychological tratments work on helping people cope with pain as it is not usually possible to eliminate all pain completely. people who dwell on the pain find it much harder to get on with things, and theapists can help people use relaxation and distraction techniques, as well as cognitive behavioural therapies to be more functional and happier despite chronic pain. These are usually available via pain clinics, and some GPs may refer directly if there is an NHS service in the area that allows them to do so. Surgery is the last resort, and is NEVER used in the first 3 months for simple pain or sciatica alone. Surgery for leg pain may make back pain WORSE, and vice versa. Nearly everyone has 3 months of WORSE pain after surgery, and 90% of people will get better before then so they always wait 6 weeks before scanning and 3 months before operating at the very least. Not all back pain or sciatica will benefit from surgery. Surgery in the first 3 months is reserved for people with compression of the spinal cord or "cauda equina" (latin for "horses tail" - the bundle of seperate nerve roots at the end of the spinal cord), infection, trauma (ie broken backs), and cancer. These cause less than 2% of all back pain and are rare in people aged 20-55, becoming more common with age. They will have almost certainly been looked for and ruled out in your OH. He will probably get much better soon, and you should try the above therapies, especially the physical treatments, but A&E is the WORST place to go as they are very limited in what they can do. Other ports of call apart from your GP, are local chiropractic or osteopathic clinics, and possible an acupuncture practice, which is most likely to benefit someone with sciatic pain in one or both legs. Hope this helps, and that recovery comes before long.

Drugs for erectile dysfunction are only available on the NHS if you have an underlying medical condition that is on a particular list (diabetes, etc). Your GP is essentially charging for the time it takes him to review and issue the prescription, as well as the cost of putting the systems in place to do that, and a bit of profit (Each practice is a business so anything that doesn't bring money in actually costs the practice money - should your GP pay for the privilege of your erection?). You don't have to get the prescription from your GP, so shop around. Is £50 a month good value for four pleasant evenings? It seems lower than the cost of most dates! GPs can't charge their NHS patients for private consultations, but they can charge fees for non NHS services supplied to NHS patients (eg insurance forms etc.). NHS guidelines specifically exclude prescriptions for certain drugs such as antimalarials for holidays, and also "recreational" erectile dysfunction drugs.

Hi It sounds like your daughter had a rough time of it. Childbirth in general can be tough, and when it does not go according to plan it is enourmously upsetting for mum, dad, grandparents and everyone else - including the midwives and doctors. I hope she is recovering. I take it from the initial post that the baby is fit and well? If not my apologies. I am a GP, but recently spent 6 months working as a junior doctor in Obstetrics & Gynaecology. It sounds to me that what is needed here is not a "second opinion" on what to do now, but a proper explanation of what has already been done. It is a fact of modern working patterns in the NHS that any care delivered out of hours (Ie between 5pm and 8am) is very unlikely to be delivered by the consultant in charge of your case. This is not doctors being lazy, but a consequence of the European Working Time Directive, which limits the hours anyone can work unless self employed. Decisions when labour is slow or delayed are often made very quickly because minutes can be the difference between a healthy baby and a handicapped or stillborn baby. This may be why your daughter feels she was not really informed what was happening, and why she was not as fully involved in the decision as should be the case in an ideal situation. It sounds to me as if the doctors who made the decision to operate, and actually did the surgery need to find a good deal of time to sit down with you and your daughter and go through what happened and why. I suspect that this may help you both understand the current situation better than seeing several other doctors who were not there at the time. I would suggest you take this avenue first, as this may help you more than seeing lots more consultants with diffent views and personal axes to grind. If you start to sue the doctors concerned they may not be willing to have the same sort of frank discussion for fear of both a confrontational meeting, and of prejudicing any future legal case. I have often found that poor communication, in the heat of battle, so to speak, is the real problem in situations like this. As an aside I took the examination for the Royal College of General Practitioners: I had to spend about 100 hours watching videotapes of my own consultations to select 10 that showed me consulting to the standard required. I also spent at least that much time reading about and practising consultation skills and methods before I started videotaping at all. When I did the examination for the Royal College of Surgeons I was not even allowed to ask patients questions during the clinical part of the examination. I wonder if this explains why many Surgeons (including Obstetricians) are not great at talking to / with their patients!

Clydesdale have now offered the full ammount plus court fees but without statutory interest. I have written to them already asking for the full ammount flat. I shall do so again (Interest is nearly £100). Are they worried? I think they must be.

Halifax returned an acknowledgement of service but then settled in full 2 weeks later. (£210 including interest and fees) 3 down, one to go (Clydesdale - the big one only £600 or so but rising!) I will donate when all is done.......

I have recieved the defence from Clydesdale. It looks much the same as the one sent recently and tagged to the Whistleblower documentary. I wonder if they are worried about the effect this is going to have in court. I now have to fill in the allocation questionaire.

Clydesdale have offered less than half (£210.75) in settlement. They have also filed acknowledgement of service. I think they are going to go to court. Bring it on!

Dear Carl, You need to go through the statements with a highlighter or something, and flag up all the charges. You can then add 'em up, and calculate if you have paid the bank interest on the charges. There is a spreadsheet on the site, or you can use the one at moneysavingexpert.com. Bank charges: Reclaim them, they're unlawful, so you can get six years money back | MoneySavingExpert: Consumer Revenge, Credit Cards, Shopping, Bank Charges, Cheap Flights and more, Write down a table of EVERYTHING you are claiming, preferably in a spreadsheet with dates and exact wording from the statements. You can then add to this as new charges appear, and just print it out with each new letter to the bank or courts. You then need to go on to write your preliminary approach letters and move on with things. The bank sure as hell aren't going to give you a nice summary of all the money they have unlawfully extracted from your account but they will generally tell you if you overestimate charges (eg ones that were later refunded etc.), so err on your side not theirs. There is a thread on what charges you can reclaim: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/15518-charges-description-statements-please.html Hope this helps! - click the scales to tell the mods I'm useful.....

Leeds Address: Advice Quality Unit, Charges Section Third Floor Brunswick Point Wade Lane LEEDS LS2 8NQ

I was wondering if anyone has an English or Welsh address for the Clydesdale as It says I need this on Moneyclaim. Thanks!

I asked for £120, but £20 was over 6 years old. They offered £40 after PA. I sent LBA. They offered £100. ("your valued custom etc.) VICTORY IS MINE!

I didn't start a thread for this originally. I got money back from MBNA. Claim was for £70, but I settled for £30 after they replied to PA - it wasn't worth the time and effort to hold out for more. I'm after Clydesdale, Halifax, and Morgan Stanley too.

I'm after £120 I've written PA and LBA, but letter says all charges in line with T&C so not refunding. 14 days are up, so it's time to go LEGAL on their asses. I'll keep you all posted.

I've written PA and LBA but to no effect at all. They have written back each time politely ignoring the lawful charges issue and just saying they were in line with T&Cs of the account. Today is ACTION day, so I'm claiming £520 in charges from them. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hi Princeayo I have found what you need It's in the templates library http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/586-credit-store-card-letter.html Best of luck! I'm claiming from halifax, MBNA, and Morgan Stanley. Nil Te Illegitimi Confundi

I think any fee that looks like a penalty - returned DDs, late fees, default charges etc. Also try to claim interest that they charged you on any fees - see moneysavingexpert.com's calculator Reclaim bank charges: they're unlawful, so you can get six years money back | MoneySavingExpert.com, Hope this helps!

Charges for not paying by direct debit are not penalty charges, but are supposed to reflect the expense of alternative collection methods. It's gonna be difficult to get them back i would think. A lot of companies give you a discount for paying by DD which makes them untouchable, so I guess it might be worth a go. Maybe you just need to get your head above water and then start paying by DD. Visit MoneySavingExpert.com for advice on debt management. It's saved me £2-300 a month within 3 months.

Hi one and all This is my first post, but I've been hanging around the site for a while. I've finally bitten the bullet and have issued claims against Clydesdale Bank and 3 Credit Cards (MBNA Platinum, Morgan Stanley Platinum, and Halifax Gold). I have plenty of other banking and credit facilities on standby, and indeed rarely go OD these days but when I was younger I had less money and was less careful so got stung. I came her from moneysavingexpert.com, and have been on a big mission to make better use of money for some time now. This could be my best moneysaver yet - total claimed is just over £700, which is peanuts compared to some of the ammounts claimed on these pages, but will still be nice to have back. If I could go back more than 6 years with clydesdale in particular and get back some of the charges from my student days then it would be £800- £1000 more, but I'm not greedy - It's not enough for the fight that would entail! Thanks for listening and Good Luck to all who come afterward!