how do I sue the nhs

[posh123]

Hi can anyone tell me how I would go about sueing the nhs for negligence, I am enquiring for my mum who has just lost her partner. One of the points is the staff placed an iv in his muscle instead of a vein which resulted in his arm becoming extremely swollen and painful, the second is the drain going into his liver came out and they didn't put it back in therefore all the muck didn' t come out it just went straight back inside him. He died shortly after this.

[Lucy Thomas]

What would be your motive for sueing the NHS. It won't bring back the person in question but it will place extra stress on already overstressed staff. They are already doing an impossible job with little resources and even less support from those in management.

Also, where do you think the money will come from if they have to make a huge payment to you. It comes from NHS budgets and only serves to exacerbate the problem.

Remember, the staff at the hospital are trying to do the best they can but are literally rushed off their feet due to staff shortages. None of the staff involved meant to cause any harm. They simply got it wrong.

This is symptomatic of today's society that everything is always 'someone elses fault'.

Look at the wider implications of your action and consider whether it is really justified.

[posh123]

wow how helpful!!!

[redcrx]

i pretty much agree with lucy. What do you want from this? answers? money? the dismissal of staff?

My grandad lost his life in hospital due to serious errors which caused organ failure. The consultants admitted theyd made a mistake, albeit an horrific one, but what could bring grandad back? nothing. and money cant replace a loved one.

[Mirror]

i agree with lucy to an extent. suing NHS might wake them and shake them up. it might teach them to be less negligent more careful in future

[Lucy Thomas]

Don't be sarcastic just because you didn't get the answer you were expecting.

[tigersam258]

again, I agree with Lucy in part but thoise budgets are paid for by the tax payer so ultimately Joe Public is going to foot the bill. if someone has been negligent then perhaps issue a civil suit against the individual concerned if you want retribution.

[tiggerblue10]

I'm still feeling sick at the thought of Leslie Ash getting �5m.

I have to agree with Lucy as well Posh, however I can understand your and your mothers anger. Sadly these things do happen and will probably go on happening. Hospital staff are only human too.

[Annlinda]

I disagree with the other postings. If the hospital was negligent then I would be pushing for a public enquiry to ascertain whether the staff had made fatal mistakes, Then get a decent solicitor and take action. How would the other posters feel if they had been treated like this and left to die in agony. These hospitals need sorting out the calibre of nursing staff is dreadful, when you see the way people are treated it is little wonder that many people have little respect these days for the so called professionals. Yes I was a nurse many moons ago and Matron would not put up with the filth and neglect one sees today.

[Lucy Thomas]

And that filth and neglect is down to mis-management both locally and at governmental level. The front line staff in the NHS are under-staffed and over-worked. Maybe your venom would be better directed at those who can improve hospitals such as this sham of a government of ours.

[tigersam258]

Annlinda, I am sure that sympathy for Posh is felt by everyone here however suing the NHS is not going to bring the person back. It will simply deplete resources further again. I agree that hospitals are not as clean as they used to be but that it because the cleaning contracts are subbed out to the lowest bidders who employ immigrants that can barely speak english if at all. This is all down to the total lack of control from all governments over the last 30 years. So yes, I do feel for Posh and her family but suing the NHS will only cost the taxpayer in the end.

[Lucy Thomas]

The NHS, like most of the public sector, is top heavy with management. Until this is redressed, nothing will change.

[lawsanass]

excuse my ignorance posters, but does the NHS not have insurance to pay out in these situations? Its a bit naughty if people can die and then no one held accountable if a serious error by a member of staff was a major contributing factor of their death, it will just keep on happening is there is no consequence to their actions, would everyone feel the same if it had been a baby or a child?

[Lucy Thomas]

My reply would have been no different. By the way, what happens to your insurance if you make a claim?

We desparately need to attract people into the medical profession, not scare them off.

[redcrx]

money couldnt replace a baby either

Yes they are insured but thats paid for by someone. What is really needed is answers when these things happen and the assurances that standards will improve if they are at fault.

[tigersam258]

i agree red but have you noticed how the managers of the NHS scuttle away like cockroaches when you turn the light on, as soon as a serious blunder has happened. My sister is a nurse and she works damn hard, long hours and yet people just want to blame them for mistakes made by tiredness, lack of resources etc. It is the non-medical staff of the NHS that need to be accountable for the mis-allocation of resources and untlimately the Minster for Health.

Unfortunately this Americanism of our legal system with people suing National Services is beyond a joke and must be stopped. Cases such as the woman with the fat lips hasnt helped because of the size of the payout. Whilst everyone would hope that nothing untoward happens, it does despite the best intentions and efforts of the medical staff. So lets all speak with out voting papers the next time that Mr Brown decides to put his tenure in office to the poll of the nation. Maybe a change at the top may make it better. At least it cant make it any worse!

[Lucy Thomas]

Hear, hear.

[caggy]

well said tigersam
what would it acheive sueing the nhs? the money that they would pay out to you would pay for a salary of a nurse or 2 for a year. the nhs resources are over stretched as it is and the money you would like would have to come from it.
i work for the nhs and altho it has it faults what other country in the world has a health system that is accessible to all regardless of how much you have in the bank?

[redcrx]

answers are what are needed. There was a tragic tale of a couple who lost their child during birth 3 years ago. The babys skull was crushed as the consultants couldnt decide how to deliver it.

when it came to a hearing the notes had all disappeared so no-one could be held accountable, the doctors couldnt recall what had happened.

Money may have helped the parents finance the flowers they leave weekly at the grave but its never going to make up for what they lost.

They want to know what happened and how it was allowed to happen.

[ladyalex]

The first thing you should do is to make a formal complaint to whoever was in charge of his care. The charge nurse on the ward where he was nursed should be able (and willing) to give you information about their complaints procedure. If you are unhappy with their explanations as to what happened to your Mum's partner, you might then consider consulting a solicitor, but speak to the hospital first. Don't involve yourself with the expense of a solicitor until you are sure that you want to take action. I know you are probably feeling quite angry and upset now, but if you are given full explanations and/or an apology for what went on, perhaps you might change your mind.
Suing the NHS is a very long, frustrating, time-consuming and expensive process. They have huge resources available to them to fight off actions brought against them , whereas you have only your own resources.
I am sorry for you and your Mum but please think long and hard before embarking on this.

[Mamjet]

When you say 'lost' do you mean that they've mislaid thebody?