Had anyone got an experience with making a complaint?

My mum (68) was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2019 and a passed away three months later due to a stroke.

I've been complaining about her care from the first night we spent in A&E when she was diagnosed. Her care was unbelievably poor, to the point it ultimately contributed to her death. 

On paper she sounds like a very sick old lady but in reality she was asymptomatic and was living a full life up until she had the stroke.

I feel I've arrived at a dead end. No one seems to be taking my concerns seriously, because the prognosis can be poor, she would have died anyway. Had anyone had any success raising concerns with care in advanced cancer cases? 

  • Hi tezzy08,

    Sorry to hear what you and your mother have been through.  Best place to start an official complaint with any hospital is to visit their website there should be a complaints section.  I did this when my dad died from Covid and it takes a bit of time, be prepared to write everything down, dates and names if you have them, ready to submit it as well telling them what your desired outcome is .  It took me about 4 months to get an official response, and if you are not satisifed with that there is a patient ombudsman you can appeal to.  Good luck.

    Kind regards, Alison

     

  • Hello Tezzy08, it's very easy to complain, I've just done it myself in respect of my husband and his death which was aggravated by his time in hospital.  So it really depends on what you want from complaining, acknowledgement of how she was treated, lack of care, medical negligence, there are numerous ways of achieving this.  Firstly I saw a solicitor, who did not charge me anything and gave me excellent advice on how to proceed.  I really just want an apology and someone to acknowledge that the care was way below what they should have offered.  Look up the chairman of the Trust, also look for other names of those in charge, all this is on the website of that Trust.  If you kept a note of Mum's tiine and treatment whilst in hospital, then write that down and ask questions for each point you raise.  You can email and send copies of your complaint to all of them. They then have up to 40 days to reply after investigation of your complaint.  They may ask to meet with you, if they do take someone with you, the meeting will be recorded and you will receive a disc of this for yourself.  I hope this helps a little in clearing your mind and achieving your aims.  Good luck, Carol x