I am UK based and have private medical insurance but I won’t say which this relates to in order to avoid any political views.

I report to the clinic with three different injuries. One is potentially life threatening, one is a shear fractured bone and one is a foreign body(stick in the arm).

All immediate attention on god potential life threatening injury which turns out to be nothing. Stick removed from arm but infection within 24hrs and possibly stuff left in. Busted toe ignored.

Fast forward 2 weeks and it seems the toe is properly swollen and because nothing was done for the last two weeks it is unlikely to ever recover. This is on my right leg where I have a damaged knee and fused ankle. This is not inconvenient , this is crippling.

The arm with the bit of stick left in it should have been dealt with at the time.

I was told today that I should have advised the doctors what to do with the toe and instructed the nerve to properly excavate and clean the wound. Because I waited two weeks there is nothing I can do so please stop wasting their time.

Bit pissed and a bit pissed off.

Any thoughts?

Do you want fixing or money? Cos It’s either a complaints procedure/2nd opinion or a solicitor.

Nothing to add apart from apt username.

I was told today that I should have advised the doctors what to do with the toe and instructed the nerve to properly excavate and clean the wound.

Aren’t they supposed to give their opinion so you can instruct them? This is how it went for a (NHS) surgery of mine.

should have gone NHS, they make mistakes, but usually pay out if they have, lots of clinical negligence bods out there, but expect it to take a long time.

stop wasting you cash on private health care and get yourself to the hospital. people who work there do so because they want to care for people mostly, and not just for cash like you bupa or whatever do.

stop wasting you cash on private health care and get yourself to the hospital. people who work there do so because they want to care for people mostly, and not just for cash like you bupa or whatever do.

+1 for what Ton said, It why my wife does what she does.

Private comes with the job.

Do I want fixing or money?

Fixing.

I you can’t fix it because you cocked up then pay for the shoes I need to cope with what you have done.

I currently pay about £90 for shoes because I flecked up my foot. It now looks like I have to replace them because of the toe.

I am angry about this, not for the money but for the failure. Not sure what to do but want this to stop happening to others

should have gone NHS, they make mistakes, but usually pay out if they have, lots of clinical negligence bods out there, but expect it to take a long time.

If only it was that easy.

Is this a communication failure WCA?

The thing about the much maligned NHS is that they are used to seeing and dealing with just about everything. Trauma is not something I would ever go to a private clinic with because they don’t see that much. If you had gone to an NHS A&E, you may well have waited for a long time, you may well have been the subject of a ‘Well, he’s a surgical case, no, he’s an Ortho case’ argument, but eventually you would have been seen by someone who would cut through the crap and treat all of you, at the time you needed treating.

I know C-G has her issues with the NHS, but we actually do a lot of good and especially when folk turn up battered and bruised.

My recommendation is to go to your GP and ask to be referred to your local Ortho clinic to see if you can be sorted out.

I only put the bit about private in to stop people kicking the NHS.

It was NHS a&e.

Failed to remove all of the stick. Failed to clean the wound properly. Did not apply a dressing so I left with a bit of cotton dressing held over it.

Failed to address the blood pressure build up behind the toe nail. Failed to refer me to fracture clinic. Failed to give any advice about aftercare. Sent me out to walk home.

My doctor gave antibiotics for the infected arm and said they should be prophylactic for the toe but no treatment for the toe despite explaining the pain.

Walk in clinic unable to do anything as they cannot see a&e x-Ray’s without a five day request process and are not allowed to take x-Ray’s if a&e already have done that. They won’t treat the toe or the arm because of this.

Now what?

Same as; GP and referral on to the right people. Then complain to the unit manager by letter or by arranging an interview to lay out your concerns.

Toe fractures are often left alone to heal, depending on the actual injury.

Thanks Crikey – letter of complaint it is then

Have now been referred to the fracture clinic and have a first appointment in a couple of weeks time, four weeks after the fracture.

I agree about leaving broken toes alone normally but with extreme swelling they should drill/cut the nail to relieve it according to the nurse/dr I saw at the walk in clinic. They should also advise some basic dos and donts such as don’t just stick your shoes back on and walk home unassisted.

If there is a lot of blood behind the nail you can fix it by heating up a paper clip and burning a hole through the nail; instant relief, usually.

Given your user name and admirable track record, I suggest getting a responsible adult to help….

OP as you don’t want people kicking the NHS I can’t comment other than to say. NHS is very good at ignoring complaints. You’ll get nowhere with this but for peace of mind you should try.

My friends who are medics in various fields tell me that private is great for scheduled ops and jumping the nhs queue. However, when it all goes wrong and you need something immediate and A n E beckons then you just cant do better than the NHS.
Im pretty sure that doesnt help you out OP and you have had a poor deal i fear.

A and E wait times are up across the country, understaffing is a huge issue
New Jr doctor contact doing is best to dissuade doctors from working there too

I imagine this will become more likely.

Didn’t make it any less crap for you, definitely complain though

Hole in the nail only works when it is fresh which is what they should have done at the time. Now the blood is dried so no benefit apparently.

Private is only useful for scheduled work. I booked my ankle op for the Wednesday after last years big bike bash so that I could enjoy the summer and the BBB and waste the winter on crutches. NHS would have just told me when to turn up.

Same doctor did the work. Aftercare was slightly better as they are incentivised to give as much treatment as is good rather than as little as they can get away with.

As I said, I was after advice rather than trying to kick the people providing the care. I have had my money’s worth from the NHS and the company health policy.

The blood can liquefy under the nail despite the length of time. I’m not giving you advice, but I know what I would do if it felt under pressure.

NHS is very good at ignoring complaints.

you do talk some arse sometimes.

Raise a complaint to the hospital. send the complaint to the CCG in which the Trust sits also. I would write directly to the complaints/compliance/governance team rather than the unit manager though.

The hospital will have a patient experience team write to them they won’t and can’t ignore it, if you still feel dissatisfied then write to the CCG or CQC.

Mistakes shouldn’t happen sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t and it’s the patient’s perception or the process being poorly explained. Writing to the experience team will get you these answers, writing to the CCG won’t.

Hole in the nail only works when it is fresh which is what they should have done at the time

Not always the best option when you have a fracture; can expose you to problems with infection, so waiting was a reasonable thing to do.

I’d start a complaint at the unit manager level, you can always escalate it if you feel the need.

Give this organisation a call, I’ve found them to be very helpful:

http://www.patients-association.org.uk/

The Cqc doesn’t investigate individual complaints and will advice you to complain via PALs, if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint then the Cqc will refer you to the ombudsmen. However, if you report it with the Cqc it will be catalogued and the trust will be challenged around events. What you are describing sounds like process error, and Cqc love that stuff, so maybe let em know? At the very least it encourages the trust to resolve your complaint quickly and prevent it happening again.

That said, if you are looking nice for repair, an amicable relationship with an orthopod is going to be your best approach, so make clear in complaints that you are looking for recovery rather than re-dress. If you would like any further advice around complaints procedure/Cqc/ccg etc feel
Free to mail me on meehaja at hot mail dot com, I work for the Cqc, and have worked for the ccg and in emergency medicine for years.

The CQC have proved invaluable in helping to raise standards and quality in the places they have inspected, but complaints at a local level are the way to begin the process.