Friday 10 January 2014

NHS Blunders


When I went into hospital to have Leo, I put all of my faith and trust into the trained professionals that were going to be looking after me and delivering my baby. That is what we all do right? We have to trust those who are going to care for us at such a important time, be that having a baby or going in for a routine surgery. 

I luckily couldn't fault the level of service I received in my hour of need, they were attentive and gave me the birth that I had wished for. They gave me the assistance when I needed it and gave me the space that I desired, and most importantly they gave me my healthy boy.

The NHS hasn't provided everyone with such sound peace of mind though, I have recently read an article that describes a series of blunders (if you can actually call them that) has resulted in some rather hefty compensation claims to be paid. NHS blunders are people who have unexpectedly died or had a surgery with a complication at the result of an incompetent (maybe under trained) health professional. People like you and I who have gone in for help, put all of their trust into the people who are supposed to help them, only for them to complicate matters.

When you look at the actual figure you may be a bit shocked... 172 Million was paid out because of these 'blunders' last year, equating to £470,000 a day! Many of these mistakes took place in over stretched maternity units, and this hits very close to home for me.

Would you believe that this year the NHS is predicted to pay out 22.7 billion pounds in professional negligence claims? How crazy is that!?

If you were put in a situation where you or a family member had been mis-treated, what would you do? Would you speak up? I think sometimes you really don't know what you may do if you witnessed negligence first hand. 

My brother for instance suffered with Gall Stones at the tender age of 20 years old. He would suffer horrible pains in his stomach and even ended up in hospital. Each time he would go in he was basically accused of wasting the Doctor's time and sent home with a pat on his back. It was only while he was away on holiday within the UK that he was taken by ambulance to hospital because the pains were so severe that the Gall Stones were finally un-covered. This went on for months and months, and once diagnosed he required key hole surgery to remove the Gall Stones, if the hospital had listened and taken him seriously then everything could have been resolved much sooner. 

What are the reasons behind this negliance you hear so much about? Could it be lack of training? A Simple mistake? An error in judgement? Running before you can walk?

Whatever the answer is, I think we all know there are some mishaps within the NHS. It is in the news all the time... But I know that I personally need to be able to continue to put my trust in the health professionals. I need to know and believe that they are doing their best, that they are giving us the attention that we need during the time that we need it, and that they are committed to looking after our loved ones. 

If we don't, who will we turn to for help? 

What are your views on this and what how do you feel about putting your trust in the NHS?

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2 comments:

  1. There's definitely a lot wrong with the NHS at the moment but I don't think that we should completely give up on it. We're lucky to have the NHS, but those in charge of it just need to realign its priorities and bring the focus back to care and advancement, rather than being so opaque and defensive. Laura @ Tilly, Bailey, Irvine

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    1. I agree, we are lucky to have the NHS. Sometimes things out of our control happen, but that is just one of those things in life x

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