Gillian M Bean
I am a victim of misdiagnosis and did not receive the appropriate protective medication. Although, I went many times over a period of years to various GPs my serious, intermittent symptoms were ignored. Eventually, relevant diagnostic tests were done. I was given my diagnosis but told I had suffered no damage, although forced to retire on medical grounds with strong drug therapy.
I moved area. The new consultants were unpleasant and wrote misleading summaries of consultations. I now know this was an indication that I was a damaged patient. I had become a ‘potential litigant’. Accessing my medical records, various tests showed that I had suffered damage. Surprisingly, doctors refused to discuss these documents with me.
I embarked on the NHS Complaints Procedure but found that this was unable to answer my questions. This procedure was not devised to challenge clinical judgements or to identify when a serious medical error had occurred. I was advised to consult a solicitor. We did not qualify for legal aid and so the cost of legal action was prohibitive. Anyway, was this really necessary when the doctors, the Trusts and the Health Authority were perfectly aware of the medical evidence as to my damage?
Meeting with other victims of medical errors, I realised my treatment was not personal or special to me. The NHS had never devised a strategy of being open and honest when things went wrong, which would inevitably happen. The system needed changing.
In 1998 with Margaret MacRae, I set up a Patient Support Group for victims of adverse medical incidents. The group is ‘Sufferers of Iatrogenic Neglect’ (SIN) and its goal is full, open and honest disclosure irrespective of legal liability when a patient is harmed. We need: Patients’ Right in Statute. I can accept that medical mistakes happen, but not the trauma of the denial and cover-up culture. Most damaged patients are left without resolution.