NHS Complaint Timescale

[Zorro01]

Hello all,

 

Does anyone have any idea how long it takes the NHS to fully investigate a complaint and what alloted time scale they have (if any). it is quite a devastating and complex case and will post details to those who are interested. Does it depend on what happened or do they have a set time limit?!?!?!?!

Any thoughts???

[Zorro01]

bump

[poppynurse]

I think they are supposed to respond in a 'reasonable' time....would be interested in hearing more about your complaint.

[Zorro01]

Here are the details of the complaint. It is pretty complex as it involves alot of different doctors and a couple of hospitals. I sent them this asking for an explanation This is only part of the letter and I have put alot of stuff into laymens terms to make it easy on the eyes. You couldn't make this stuff up and for me and my family it was a very traumatic time. it is a bit long so here is a shortened version. (I have changed some details)

 

My Dad was bitten on the thumb so went to A&E moments later expecting to receive tetanus and a couple of stitches, and then come home later that day. The nurse who was seeing to my Father contacted another Hospital to see if my father could go down as an outpatient to receive his stitches from one of their plastic surgeons. The nurse was apparently instructed by the plastic surgeon at another Hospital to give my Father an injection before he attends to receive his stitches – (He was not given a tetanus at this time).

 

The Nurse then went on to administer the injection as instructed by the doctor (who hadn’t himself seen or spoken to my father) and upon seeing the amount / measurement of liquid / drug in the syringe which they planned to give him intravenously, my father at first refused this amount and said “I think there’s too much stuff there; you’re going to give me too much”. The nurse said he had been told to give my father the injection before he goes to other Hospital as an outpatient and the nurse reassured my Father that everything would be ok. Less than 10 seconds after being administered with the drug my father had to be rushed to the Resuscitation room where he had to be cut from his clothes and wired up to numerous monitors and life saving devices. They obviously thought he was going to die at that point.

 

My father lost all bodily functions (toiletry functions etc) and spent the next 4 days in hospital in a very bad state for what should have originally been a quick trip to the hospital for tetanus and a few stitches for a very small dog bite to his thumb. He is still to this day very ill and getting worse. When we first spoke to the doctors at the hospital about that had happened an hour or so after my father was rushed to Resus, they said that he had an allergic reaction to the drug that was administered. However, upon speaking to my father’s GP, he assured us that my father has had the exact same drug (in what we feel are much lower and normal amounts) several times before so we don’t feel he was allergic to the medication as the hospital claims, but was given too much of the drug or the wrong drug, which a nurse was allegedly instructed to do so by a surgeon at another hospital more than 20 miles away.

 

The next morning, still at local Hospital - the day after my father was been given the drugs, he was still an inpatient and very poorly. My mother received a call at home from 2nd hospitals outpatients department asking can my dad come in to get his stitches. My mother went on to inform them what had happened to my father and they were completely shocked and said that it was the first they had heard of it as they was under the impression he was an outpatient (walking wounded), just waiting to come in and get his thumb stitched and bandaged.

 

We had been reassured on the evening of the 4th February that my father was to receive no more of the same drug / injection (and this is something that we insisted on also) they had given to him. However, on the morning of the 5th February another nurse tried to administer the exact same drug (albeit a much less amount) but luckily my dad refused to be given the treatment, and was so scared and completely terrified by this that he told the nurse to go and double check his notes and make sure he is giving him the right amount and type of medication. The nurse went away, read his notes, and then came back and apologised to my father. He then administered the correct treatment. Just imagine if my father had been unconscious or asleep and that this nurse hadn’t read his notes (which he didn’t) then my father could have been seriously ill again or even worse. It isn’t my father’s job to make sure the nurses at the hospital give him the right medication especially when he is already very seriously ill through no fault of his own.

 

On the 3rd day in the hospital my father was moved to one of the regular wards. When we went to visit him that evening, we asked the ward sister how my father’s thumb was because we were aware that the bandages had not been changed, and that his hand was really swollen. The reply we got was staggering to say the least. The Ward sister replied “why what’s wrong with his hand we thought he had an allergic reaction to some medication”. This was absolutely appalling. We then went on to explain to the nurse why he had originally came to the hospital and that fixed that problem. They then re-bandaged my father’s hand and cleaned the wound which is lucky because it had now become infected and would not have been dressed or cleaned for days if we had not brought it to the attention of the staff...

 

My father now has growing liver problems which he is looking into with his GP and he now has to go for a liver scan (ultra sound) to test the severity of the damages to his liver which we feel is a direct result of being administered the drugs that day. My father has NO history of liver problems before he went to the hospital on the Wednesday 4th February but now he does – He hasn’t drank alcohol since 1974, he is a strict vegetarian and eats healthily, and since his visit to A&E he is a complete shadow of himself. He is constantly cold, has sleepless nights and nightmares. He feels poorly all the time, he doesn’t go out and walk his dog or ride his bike like he used to and he is most definitely terrified of being given any drugs or medication at the hospital.

 

 

I was told on another site last night that they have 25 days to sort stuff out but on other occassions this can take longer. It is now nearing the end of May and I have not heared anything from them.

 

 

[poppynurse]

Here are the details of the complaint. It is pretty complex as it involves alot of different doctors and a couple of hospitals. I sent them this asking for an explanation This is only part of the letter and I have put alot of stuff into laymens terms to make it easy on the eyes. You couldn't make this stuff up and for me and my family it was a very traumatic time. it is a bit long so here is a shortened version. (I have changed some details)

 

My Dad was bitten on the thumb so went to A&E moments later expecting to receive tetanus and a couple of stitches, and then come home later that day. The nurse who was seeing to my Father contacted another Hospital to see if my father could go down as an outpatient to receive his stitches from one of their plastic surgeons. The nurse was apparently instructed by the plastic surgeon at another Hospital to give my Father an injection before he attends to receive his stitches – (He was not given a tetanus at this time). I suspect that the dr wanted your dad to have some IV antibiotics as dog bites can be heavily contaminated, sounds like the wound was deep if he was referred to plastics. Presumably this was prescribed by at dr at the local A&E and administered by the nurse. Do you know what the drug and dose was? Do you knw when your dad last had a tetanus vac?

 

The Nurse then went on to administer the injection as instructed by the doctor (who hadn’t himself seen or spoken to my father) and upon seeing the amount / measurement of liquid / drug in the syringe which they planned to give him intravenously, my father at first refused this amount and said “I think there’s too much stuff there; you’re going to give me too much”. The nurse said he had been told to give my father the injection before he goes to other Hospital as an outpatient and the nurse reassured my Father that everything would be ok. Less than 10 seconds after being administered with the drug my father had to be rushed to the Resuscitation room where he had to be cut from his clothes and wired up to numerous monitors and life saving devices. They obviously thought he was going to die at that point (Not at all - they were just moving him into an appropriate area and attaching monitoring to rapidly assess and deal with the situation). Sounds like an anaphylactic (allergic)reaction to the drugs. You don't necessarily react to the first or subsequent doses but you body can build up sensitivity and then on repeat exposure have a reaction.

 

My father lost all bodily functions (toiletry functions etc) and spent the next 4 days in hospital in a very bad state for what should have originally been a quick trip to the hospital for tetanus and a few stitches for a very small dog bite to his thumb. He is still to this day very ill and getting worse. When we first spoke to the doctors at the hospital about that had happened an hour or so after my father was rushed to Resus, they said that he had an allergic reaction to the drug that was administered. However, upon speaking to my father’s GP, he assured us that my father has had the exact same drug (in what we feel are much lower and normal amounts) several times before so we don’t feel he was allergic to the medication as the hospital claims, but was given too much of the drug or the wrong drug, which a nurse was allegedly instructed to do so by a surgeon at another hospital more than 20 miles away. You need to know what drug and dose was prescribed and what drug and dose was administered. Have you requested a copy of the notes?

 

The next morning, still at local Hospital - the day after my father was been given the drugs, he was still an inpatient and very poorly. My mother received a call at home from 2nd hospitals outpatients department asking can my dad come in to get his stitches. My mother went on to inform them what had happened to my father and they were completely shocked and said that it was the first they had heard of it as they was under the impression he was an outpatient (walking wounded), just waiting to come in and get his thumb stitched and bandaged. Poor communication.

 

We had been reassured on the evening of the 4th February that my father was to receive no more of the same drug / injection (and this is something that we insisted on also) they had given to him. However, on the morning of the 5th February another nurse tried to administer the exact same drug (albeit a much less amount) but luckily my dad refused to be given the treatment, and was so scared and completely terrified by this that he told the nurse to go and double check his notes and make sure he is giving him the right amount and type of medication. The nurse went away, read his notes, and then came back and apologised to my father. He then administered the correct treatment. Just imagine if my father had been unconscious or asleep and that this nurse hadn’t read his notes (which he didn’t) then my father could have been seriously ill again or even worse. It isn’t my father’s job to make sure the nurses at the hospital give him the right medication especially when he is already very seriously ill through no fault of his own. It is the dr who prescibes the drugs not the nurse, I'm confused here as the nurse could not have come back with the correct drug unless this was prescibed.

 

On the 3rd day in the hospital my father was moved to one of the regular wards. When we went to visit him that evening, we asked the ward sister how my father’s thumb was because we were aware that the bandages had not been changed, and that his hand was really swollen. The reply we got was staggering to say the least. The Ward sister replied “why what’s wrong with his hand we thought he had an allergic reaction to some medication”. This was absolutely appalling. We then went on to explain to the nurse why he had originally came to the hospital and that fixed that problem. They then re-bandaged my father’s hand and cleaned the wound which is lucky because it had now become infected and would not have been dressed or cleaned for days if we had not brought it to the attention of the staff... this is another example of poor communication - staff on ward not told of wound- but a competent nurse would have had that bandage off anyway looking to assess what was under it!

 

My father now has growing liver problems which he is looking into with his GP and he now has to go for a liver scan (ultra sound) to test the severity of the damages to his liver which we feel is a direct result of being administered the drugs that day. My father has NO history of liver problems before he went to the hospital on the Wednesday 4th February but now he does – He hasn’t drank alcohol since 1974, he is a strict vegetarian and eats healthily, and since his visit to A&E he is a complete shadow of himself. He is constantly cold, has sleepless nights and nightmares. He feels poorly all the time, he doesn’t go out and walk his dog or ride his bike like he used to and he is most definitely terrified of being given any drugs or medication at the hospital. This is not the typical aftermath of anaphylaxis - you usually get the treatment, get better and that's it.

 

 

I was told on another site last night that they have 25 days to sort stuff out but on other occassions this can take longer. It is now nearing the end of May and I have not heared anything from them.

 

I would contact PALS at the hospital and ask them to pursue your complaint. And write to the chief exec!

 

 

mmmmm

[Zorro01]

I am fast at typing so sorry to all for the lengthy post Again.

 

I take on board your points and you obviously know alot about the procedures at hospitals.

The doctor that told the nurse to give my dad the drugs was told to do so over the phone from a Doctor more than 20 miles away at another hospital.

Also the antibiotics he had given to him by the nurse were not given by drip as I stated above (not to familiar with the terminology) but with what my dad discribed as a "comedy needle" or "joke shop needle".

*Augueriblm* (co-ofloxiclow) is the name of the drug.

My father had a tetanus last november and he has also been administered the exact same drug by his GP a couple of times in the not to distant past with no reactions or side effects.

In regards to the bite it was a nip more than a bite but it was the location of the bite on the end of his thumb so I suppose they have to be careful with things like infection etc but then on the back of that the ward nurses had forgotten all about it and due to lack of communication there are putting peole at harms way. I don't blame them in particular and 99% of them do a blinding and extremley tough job but there are always a few in every work place who preform oversights on a regular basis.

 

Whether they thought he was going to die or not they still made him ill by administering the drugs in a higher quantity than was prescribed. The nurse in question was pulled to one side as it all started to kick off and one of the senior A&E doctors made him scurry off sharpish. The next day the same nurse came to the ward and apologised to us all and said he felt guilty because it was him that made my father sick but he had only been following instructions...then he left.

** It is the dr who prescibes the drugs not the nurse, I'm confused here as the nurse could not have come back with the correct drug unless this was prescibed.

Exactly they all got it wrong. The ward doctor or whoever was giving the instruction to administer more of the same. My dad (as ill as he was) refused and then the nurse must have gone and spoke to the ward doctor or whoever and come back with the correct treatment. These are the things I have asked the NHS to explain to us.

Just an update since I written the letter origionally, my dad is in the early stages of liver failure due to this. He goes to hospital one day full of life and with not to many health complaints to a week later looking ill and with lots of health complaints. I think anyone reading this can agree that they messed up somewhere it's just unlucky for me that it was my father instead of someone elses (not that I wish it on anyone.

 

When I get a response I will update on hear for a bit of advice.

 

[poppynurse]

I am fast at typing so sorry to all for the lengthy post Again.

 

I take on board your points and you obviously know alot about the procedures at hospitals.

The doctor that told the nurse to give my dad the drugs was told to do so over the phone from a Doctor more than 20 miles away at another hospital. The nurse should not be administering any drug without a written prescription (unless a nurse prescriber or under PGD).

Also the antibiotics he had given to him by the nurse were not given by drip as I stated above (not to familiar with the terminology) but with what my dad discribed as a "comedy needle" or "joke shop needle".

*Augueriblm* (co-ofloxiclow) is the name of the drug. The drug is Augmentin (co-amoxiclav) and it can be given by intravenous bolus injection, typically through a cannula. The usual dose is 1.2 grams made upto 20mls with water. Flushed through with normal saline. Sounds like your father is allergic to penicillin. Do you know what dose was administered? Sadly liver failure is a rare side-effect of co-amoxiclav - even in normal doses.

My father had a tetanus last november and he has also been administered the exact same drug by his GP a couple of times in the not to distant past with no reactions or side effects. In that case a tetanus vac was not necessary.

In regards to the bite it was a nip more than a bite but it was the location of the bite on the end of his thumb so I suppose they have to be careful with things like infection etc but then on the back of that the ward nurses had forgotten all about it and due to lack of communication there are putting peole at harms way. I don't blame them in particular and 99% of them do a blinding and extremley tough job but there are always a few in every work place who preform oversights on a regular basis. No defence to this.

 

Whether they thought he was going to die or not they still made him ill by administering the drugs in a higher quantity than was prescribed. The nurse in question was pulled to one side as it all started to kick off and one of the senior A&E doctors made him scurry off sharpish. The next day the same nurse came to the ward and apologised to us all and said he felt guilty because it was him that made my father sick but he had only been following instructions...then he left.

** It is the dr who prescibes the drugs not the nurse, I'm confused here as the nurse could not have come back with the correct drug unless this was prescibed.

Exactly they all got it wrong. The ward doctor or whoever was giving the instruction to administer more of the same. My dad (as ill as he was) refused and then the nurse must have gone and spoke to the ward doctor or whoever and come back with the correct treatment. These are the things I have asked the NHS to explain to us. Dad needs to wear a red allergy patient wristband for any and all future admissions - this flags up that he has an allergy to all staff.

Just an update since I written the letter origionally, my dad is in the early stages of liver failure due to this. He goes to hospital one day full of life and with not to many health complaints to a week later looking ill and with lots of health complaints. I think anyone reading this can agree that they messed up somewhere it's just unlucky for me that it was my father instead of someone elses (not that I wish it on anyone.

 

When I get a response I will update on hear for a bit of advice.

 

Don't wait long for a response- get chasing - you are entitled to an explanation.

[Zorro01]

I am unsure of the amount he was administered but I am going to start chasing this up on tuesday.

 

I thought you would be interested to know that in some hospitals in Manchester they are actually stopping the wearing of the red allergy bands - this is something a nurse told us at the hospital where my father eventually got his stitches. She told us to complain to get them reinstated at her hospital. Something to do with privacy laws or something. Have you heard of this before???

[poppynurse]

I have heard this - however patient safety has to come first - the specific allergies needn't be put on the wristband if the trust wants to be pedantic, it's very presence alerts staff who can then double check the notes.

 

Let us know how you get on.

[Zorro01]

I have answered my own question through a bit of research.

The hospital complaints procedure states a 25 day deadline to deal with complaints in full and not any longer. If it is a more complex case then they want more time they have to ask my permission for it but I haven't heard anything from them.

It is now 48 days and counting and still not a peep from them. What are my options now becuase I don't know what to do.

[poppynurse]

You need to request a copy of the medical notes (dad will have to do this himself).

You also need to write to the Patient Advocacy and Liason Service at the hospital trust. I would copy the Chief Exec and Chief Nurse - they should then kick some ass and get the investigation moving.

 

Out of interest which hospital is it?

[Zorro01]

I cant disclose the hospital just yet Poppynurse. I know that journalists read this site and I don't want to start anything just yet. I will follow your lead about the above actions to take.

thanks for all your help.

[poppynurse]

No worries, If I can be of any furhter help let me know.

[Sali]

If you still have no reply then 'phone the Health and Parliamentary Ombudsman and ask their advice. In my case they contacted the hospital and I shortly after received a response from the Chief Exec. If you are unhappy with the response and explanation from the hospital, you have the right to escalate the complaint to the Ombudsman.