Reporting Child's Treatment in Hospital?

ShaShaBear

Sorry guys, really wasn't sure where to put this, but does anyone have any idea where I would put in a formal complaint about my daughter's treatment (or lack thereof) in Cavan General? I can't find an email for a complaints officer for paediatrics specifically.

Anne_cordelia

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Sorry guys, really wasn't sure where to put this, but does anyone have any idea where I would put in a formal complaint about my daughter's treatment (or lack thereof) in Cavan General? I can't find an email for a complaints officer for paediatrics specifically.

Your Service your say?

uck51js9zml2yt

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/yourhealthservice/feedback/Complaints/Officers/Hospital/cosrcsi.html

ShaShaBear

Anne_cordelia wrote: »

Your Service your say?

Perfect, thanks. Wanted to make sure it wasn't being ignored as the staff in the hospital are refusing to acknowledge.

ShaShaBear

Moses Bitter Forklift wrote: »

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/yourhealthservice/feedback/Complaints/Officers/Hospital/cosrcsi.html

I looked there originally but there didn't seem to be anyone tailored to discuss my complaint. It's very specific to paed doctors.

PhoenixParker

ShaShaBear wrote: »

I looked there originally but there didn't seem to be anyone tailored to discuss my complaint. It's very specific to paed doctors.

They pass it to whoever needs to see it and make sure it's followed up. At least that was my experience with a GP complaint last year. Was impressed with their thoroughness and responsiveness.

ShaShaBear

PhoenixParker wrote: »

They pass it to whoever needs to see it and make sure it's followed up. At least that was my experience with a GP complaint last year. Was impressed with their thoroughness and responsiveness.

That's grand then. Didn't want to send on an email (want there to be written logs of correspondence as opposed to phonecalls) to have it ignored because I sent it to the wrong person

jlm29

A lot of hospitals also have a patient liaison officer, you could check that out. TBH though, you're probably better off going through ysys. I'd say the liaison officers are better at collecting up thank you cards and spreading joy than dealing with complaints

ShaShaBear

jlm29 wrote: »

A lot of hospitals also have a patient liaison officer, you could check that out. TBH though, you're probably better off going through ysys. I'd say the liaison officers are better at collecting up thank you cards and spreading joy than dealing with complaints

Thanks, going to take the weekend to type it up in Word and make sure I'm not missing any details and get it sent in to them. Sad that it even has to be done, but even sadder that mistakes are being made and putting people's lives at risk :mad:

JustAThought

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Thanks, going to take the weekend to type it up in Word and make sure I'm not missing any details and get it sent in to them. Sad that it even has to be done, but even sadder that mistakes are being made and putting people's lives at risk :mad:

PDF it and copy everyone.
+1 for the patient liaison 'officer' - a low tank admin who is typically employed by and loyal to their employer - te hospital.

I know Beaumount PLO have a ******* FLOWCHART of who to involve its that complicated. The ombudsman will only entertain complainys that have gone through the proper process - and you have proof of - so follow their rules or complian that you are getting no replies in trying to find out their rules.

Interestingly I never knew that the ombudsman covers all (non insurance non finance non lension) government agencies & employees - INCLUDING hospitals. They did a big report on it a few years back & a big PR campaign as they thought people didn't know they performed this function too.

Isn't there now an agency for children or an ombudsman for children? Perhaps Catherine Zappone's office can help you identify the best one.

And of course there is always the step outsode their holy circle and the board of the medical council who take complaints against individual registered doctors and has the power to strike them off or make them do additional training or bar them from being members and therefore make their medical training worthless as they will be unemployable. Quite the range of options.

I brought a "tape recorder" into a meeting with a consultant recently ( having had bad news) and just pressed record in my bag - they noticed it and it was astonishing how quickly I got attention - not all the right kind - but as the patient charter in some hospitals suggests this to enable you to take reaponsibilitu for your fiagnosis and to make a record of the doctors advice & question/ answers they could hardly say no. They HATED it - I got exceptionally clear and detailed patient friendly replies though; not the usual shyte dismissal.

No doubt having a child in hospital is doubly difficult and emotional process. Some agency used offer a patients advocate to go with you to help you. I'm sorry I can't remember exactly which - but bo doubt a good google will throw it up. Beat of luck

ShaShaBear

JustAThought wrote: »

PDF it and copy everyone.
+1 for the patient liaison 'officer' - a low tank admin who is typically employed by and loyal to their employer - te hospital.

I know Beaumount PLO have a ******* FLOWCHART of who to involve its that complicated. The ombudsman will only entertain complainys that have gone through the proper process - and you have proof of - so follow their rules or complian that you are getting no replies in trying to find out their rules.

Interestingly I never knew that the ombudsman covers all (non insurance non finance non lension) government agencies & employees - INCLUDING hospitals. They did a big report on it a few years back & a big PR campaign as they thought people didn't know they performed this function too.

Isn't there now an agency for children or an ombudsman for children? Perhaps Catherine Zappone's office can help you identify the best one.

And of course there is always the step outsode their holy circle and the board of the medical council who take complaints against individual registered doctors and has the power to strike them off or make them do additional training or bar them from being members and therefore make their medical training worthless as they will be unemployable. Quite the range of options.

I brought a "tape recorder" into a meeting with a consultant recently ( having had bad news) and just pressed record in my bag - they noticed it and it was astonishing how quickly I got attention - not all the right kind - but as the patient charter in some hospitals suggests this to enable you to take reaponsibilitu for your fiagnosis and to make a record of the doctors advice & question/ answers they could hardly say no. They HATED it - I got exceptionally clear and detailed patient friendly replies though; not the usual shyte dismissal.

No doubt having a child in hospital is doubly difficult and emotional process. Some agency used offer a patients advocate to go with you to help you. I'm sorry I can't remember exactly which - but bo doubt a good google will throw it up. Beat of luck

Thanks for that, a few different avenues for me to explore. Unfortunately it's a group of juniors who I do not have names for that this is in relation to. Two senior consultants in the hospital that I DO have names for admitted publicly that I was right to be upset and that I was wronged and my child's life put in danger. Then an even more grievous error was made and we have to admit my daughter to Temple Street for further rigorous testing to make up for their mistakes. Without going into extraordinary details, my child's improvement since her last visit rules out what we were most afraid of, but had it been the "C" word, she'd be in serious trouble right now. So I need to bring this as far as possible, as quickly as possible.

Thargor

What happened with the treatment?

ShaShaBear

Thargor wrote: »

What happened with the treatment?

Basically she was admitted into Cavan with severe hypoglycemia and it was her second episode in a year. It was during rotavirus infection (and the previous time adenovirus) and she was just put on a drip and then sent home when her sugars went up. Apparently she also went into ketosis but that was ignored until her day of release when the head consultant came to say he was horrified at the way she had been treated and that everything was done wrong. He ordered her back for blood tests a month after her release. We took her for those bloods and they told us within 10 minutes that they were all normal and she was fine (diabetes was being considered) but we had to come back for a consultant meeting to go over them anyway. We showed up for the appointment only to find out that half the blood results were never found and are still missing and the other half were grossly abnormal, one result in particular was abnormal during our hospital stay and even more so at the follow up test. THIS consultant said it was nothing short of disgusting that we were not told and he felt that someone was covering for a mistake. He said that combined with other results, a number of possibilities presented and some very much not good, but he was happy with her weight gain so ruled out a few of them. She got an Xray to rule out rickets, I got a phonecall while driving home from the hospital with no voicemail left and when I rang first thing the following morning they had no idea who I was, what I wanted and told me they couldn't help.

So yeah, bit of a mess-up.

donkeykong5

Hope she is ok now. It's awful when little children are ill.

ShaShaBear

donkeykong5 wrote: »

Hope she is ok now. It's awful when little children are ill.

She's had nightmares since we took her home and actually only started eating again in the last two weeks. She's terrified beyond belief of all things medical and won't even let us touch her feet because she thinks we're going to put a drip in
Now that in itself is just her personality and not anyone's fault per say, but to put her through all that and "lose" the answers as it were...

neonsofa

ShaShaBear wrote: »

She's had nightmares since we took her home and actually only started eating again in the last two weeks. She's terrified beyond belief of all things medical and won't even let us touch her feet because she thinks we're going to put a drip in
Now that in itself is just her personality and not anyone's fault per say, but to put her through all that and "lose" the answers as it were...

Ah poor little girl. Fwiw, my little one was very anxious after her experience in hospital and it did last a while but she will ease out a bit and come back to her old self. My girl was just under three at the time and she still remembers (insignificant) moments from the hospital, it's crazy, like she'll mention a toy from the playroom or something like that. So it is something that sticks with them but the actual trauma won't stay if that makes sense. It's more a scar on your heart than theirs.

artemis268

Doubt your complaint would do much. Healthcare bureaucracy here is slow and protects their own. What you described is pretty much common in peripheral hospitals outside of Dublin.

If was my kid and I suspect any emergency then I would go straight to Dublin.

Hope your daughter is doing well and wasn't harmed in the ordeal.

donkeykong5

artemis268 wrote: »

Doubt your complaint would do much. Healthcare bureaucracy here is slow and protects their own. What you described is pretty much common in peripheral hospitals outside of Dublin.

If was my kid and I suspect any emergency then I would go straight to Dublin.

Hope your daughter is doing well and wasn't harmed in the ordeal.

Not all dublin hospitals are that great. There is one that a child if mine was treated so badly in that I took child out before treatment was finished. For his safety. When my own doctor heard what happened he wrote to hospital. No reply. My doctor told me to sue same hospital. I didn't as I was just glad my child was home and safe.

pwurple

You're doing the right thing by following this up. Losing blood tests, misreading blood tests and covering it up are all failures which should not happen. It will help another patient.

ShaShaBear

pwurple wrote: »

You're doing the right thing by following this up. Losing blood tests, misreading blood tests and covering it up are all failures which should not happen. It will help another patient.

That's precisely it, Pwurple - my daughter is fine in the grand scheme of things. Her health is not deteriorating and she is happy and content. But that's not to say that leukemia or something equally serious wouldn't go un-checked in another child because the same mistakes were made. All I know is my daughter's liver and bone are releasing enzymes they shouldn't and she has a Vitamin D deficiency, and she's had both these issues since before Xmas and I'm only being told now