Should I complain or not?

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1

Hi,

I just don’t know what to do, I’m in a bit of a quandary and I guess my real fear is repercussion.

I went to see my consultant in May of this year (I had a Mastectomy in 2007 and now see him once a year). At the time of seeing him in May, I discussed the possiblity of a recon, so he said he would call for me to have a mammogram on the remaining breast.

May, June, July, August came, but still no call up for the mammogram. I rang my consultants secretary a couple of times during the months mentioned and she confirmed that I was on the list (Must be one hell of a list).

My consultant’s secretary decided in the end, to give me the phone number for the Mammography Dept.
I phoned…“No, you’re not due a Mam until 2011”…“Oh! OK” said I.
Then, thinking to myself, I was sure the consultant meant me to have the Mam sooner than 2011, so again, I phoned his secretary. “You’re on the list”
OK, phoned the Mam Dept again…“I’m on the list”…
“No you’re not”…
“Well, I should be”…
“Hang on”…“Right, you had a Mam on both breasts in April”…
“WHAT!, for a start, I’ve only got one breast and secondly I did not have a Mam in April”…
“Oh, someone has written on your notes that you had a Mam in April, sorry, yes you’re right, you should be having one now, THESE THINGS HAPPEN”

If I hadn’t kept phoning and insisting that the Mam should have been when the consultant allocated the slot in May, I would still be waiting.

I just don’t know what to do about it. Should I complain to Pals, but I will admit to being frightened that there will be repercussions for me if I do complain.
Fortunately, I am a strong person…a bit like a dog with a bone…I won’t stop until I get the answer, but of course some people would just let it pass and this is how the BC screening gets missed.

Please could I ask advice? What would you do?

Thanks
Linda

2

Linda

I too am like a dog with a bone and I would complain.

  1. If you do not complain then they will have no reason to tighten their procedures and it will happen again and might have serious consequences for another woman.

  2. I was refused breast screening 5 months before diagnosis and feel very strongly that far too many women do NOT complain about poor service, delayed diagnoses etc. from the NHS and as a result then these bad and slack practices are perpetuated.

  3. ANY organisation should admit when they’ve been wrong and see it as an opportunity to improve their services and you could include this sort of lanuage in your compalint.

  4. PALS are there to support you and no one will exact retribution from you, they owed and they still owe you a “duty of care” by law.

Now get to it and stop them from doing this again and thank you for ensuring that your experience will mean that those who follow are less likely to fall through the net.

D

3

I am sure the hospital would be only too pleased for you to complain so that they can make improvements to the system and not worry cancer patients.

If its in writing it is a valid complaint so get your stress onto the paper and leave with them. I think you will find they can be very caring towards you after that.

Good luck xx

4

Hi Linda,

I understand that all the evidence suggests that most people who complain about poor treatment/service when justified actually get more considered treatment in the future. This seems to be because they have portrayed themselves as people it is not a good idea to mess around.

However, complaining can be stressful and there should be a local advocacy service who can help with the process if you want that. Probably they will be a local or regional service with an ICAS contract to support people making complaints in the health sector. PM me if you’d like more info.

I have made a complaint about something that occurred during my treatment and, while their excuses were pathetic, I have had very good treatment from that team since …

Eliza

5

Hi Linda. My wife started receiving Herceptin in 2005 . The infusion was made up just down the corridor from the bc unit so we thought no probs in getting it – wrong twice can you believe it was not made up for her on her day of infusion – why ? They forgot! What were lists for, how could they forget a listed cancer patient? I wrote a very detailed letter to county nhs chief exec , (get all facts as clear as possible, evidence, witnesses etc, keep records and copies.) RESULT very contrite apology and review of list and drug ordering processes, never happened again. Once had a junior doc order me out of room so doc could examine my wife, after she had spurted blood all over me from wife’s blood test – another letter to her immediate superior and pals. Always complain if it needs it something’s are just trivial - others too important to let by and it can improve things for others and let the professionals know you are the expert patient and taking control of your treatment. rgds

6

Thank you everyone.

You’re right, I need to complain, or this will just eat at me and I’ll end up getting stressed over it.

Thanks again.

Linda

7

I agree you should complain… if a member of staff is writing the wrong things on notes they could also be making mistakes that give someone a false all-clear or something like that…

Theresa

8

The great thing about PALS is you don’t have to write a letter. Just ring them up, they are very helpful, and they will deal with it.
Kelley

9

I wrote to Pals and they have since phoned with an apology. My letter is now being passed on to the Head Of Mammography Dept and he in turn will be intouch with me.

I had my Mammogram Tuesday just gone, so just awaiting results now.

Thanks to all who replied, I feel I’ve done the right thing.

Linda x