I'm suing the NHS

[BipolarGuy]

After contacting a solicitor, they have determined that due to a high probability of success they are willing to take my case on on a no win no fee basis.

So I've started legal proceedings against the mental health trust for multiple breaches over 11 years.

I won't go into the details, but it ranges from being prescribed medication that has been shown to have contraindications in people with bipolar, being discharged too early, failure to hospitalise, failure to provide any service within the 18 month statutory limit, etc.

 

[lotus11]

Go for it, the NHS is bullshit and has done next to nothing to help my own mental and physical health problems. I don't have bipolar so I can't comment about that, but let me tell you that having an eating disorder in the UK the help is so unbelievably outdated and useless that at this point it would arguably the kinder thing to do to just help us suffers by shooting us in the head. If no one helps me ill probably end up dying from the disorder anyway...might as well shoot us a little sooner and take away the unnecessary suffering part!

 

[Deleted member 19654]

If the solicitor is willing to take you on with a no win, no fee basis then they must be pretty certain that you've got a good case with high chance of success. I don't have much to say because I don't know much about the law and I don't have a lot of experience with mental health services but good luck. I'm sorry that you've been let down and mistreated over the years.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

Go for it. The NHS organization is a shambles at best. If you have a case, they will most likely crumble. I took them on several years ago myself and won back a substantial amount of money.
Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for our NHS and the free healthcare is better than many other countries, but when they do make mistakes they should be held to account, as should we all.

 

[BipolarGuy]

Just to add: I have no intention of settling out of court and being conned into signing a non-disclosure agreement (basically a gag).
If it turns out I have a case, which the solicitor thinks so, then this will go to court and be done in the public eye, with the media able to report.

 

[TAW122]

I wish you the best of luck in your legal proceedings against the NHS. I also hope you receive a favorable settlement and are able to find peace.

 

[BipolarGuy]

I wish you the best of luck in your legal proceedings against the NHS. I also hope you receive a favorable settlement and are able to find peace.

Thank you.

The truth is that, on a personal level, I'm pursuing this in order to cover funeral costs....

 

[Deleted member 14386]

Just to add: I have no intention of settling out of court and being conned into signing a non-disclosure agreement (basically a gag).
If it turns out I have a case, which the solicitor thinks so, then this will go to court and be done in the public eye, with the media able to report.

Good for you man! I tried this a half decade or so ago, but no-one took the case on, I really hope your successful, this may inspire others (like myself)to come forward. Or even better, to establish a precedent for their consistently bullshit behavior!

 

[Caspers]

On behalf of myself and many other people they've belittled, let down, hurt and caused disabilities to, I sincerely hope you'll win. The media may victimise the NHS, so don't look at what lies they're telling and maybe anonymising yourself could protect you from hate. I wish you the best of luck, I've been tempted to too, but my case is very sensitive and I don't want to re-live it

 

[BipolarGuy]

I agree with the above remarks.

While of course I am grateful for the NHS, the NHS is pretty much a religion in the UK to some people.

If a medical practitioner did something wrong while working for a private practice then nobody would suggest that they shouldn't be held to account.
But there are some people who seem to think that those who work for the NHS should not be held to the same standard or level of accountability.

I don't know why some people basically think this.
Personally, I think that incompetence should not be tolerated, be it in the NHS or elsewhere.

 

[TheQ22]

Any idea how long it'll take to get them to pay up?

I guess they'll try and drag it on for ages, I hope you get a good chunk of money out of them.

 

[mediocre]

I thought I was the only one who thought the NHS was a complete disaster. You really are not allowed to criticize it. Apparently you're supposed to be grateful that you live in a country where cancer patients die from missing their treatment. Where you could be waiting months for a simple scan. Or that you have doctors that are so arrogant, rude, uncaring and incompetent. We have the best health service in the world they say.. I've never experienced it!

They blame these problems on underfunding and covid and understaffing and the government but the truth is it's always been slow and inefficently run. There is so much waste and too many pencil pushers. Nurses are the backbone but they are often blamed for doctors mistakes and incompetence. It needs a complete overhaul. Doctors should be held responsible if they make mistakes or give a misdiagnosis. Unfortunately they are not.

It's gone from being a health service that was accessible to everyone to a shady organization that takes responsibility for nothing and fails people everyday. I really hope you win OP but just know you are basically going to battle with an untouchable company and they will do everything they can to stop you and make you look stupid. Doctors stick together like the police.

 

[TheQ22]

I thought I was the only one who thought the NHS was a complete disaster. You really are not allowed to criticize it. Apparently you're supposed to be grateful that you live in a country where cancer patients die from missing their treatment. Where you could be waiting months for a simple scan. Or that you have doctors that are so arrogant, rude, uncaring and incompetent. We have the best health service in the world they say.. I've never experienced it!

They blame these problems on underfunding and covid and understaffing and the government but the truth is it's always been slow and inefficently run. There is so much waste and too many pencil pushers. Nurses are the backbone but they are often blamed for doctors mistakes and incompetence. It needs a complete overhaul. Doctors should be held responsible if they make mistakes or give a misdiagnosis. Unfortunately they are not.

It's gone from being a health service that was accessible to everyone to a shady organization that takes responsibility for nothing and fails people everyday. I really hope you win OP but just know you are basically going to battle with an untouchable company and they will do everything they can to stop you and make you look stupid. Doctors stick together like the police.

It's definitely an old boys club.

I didn't go out and do the clapping the NHS thing, I thought it utterly cringeworthy.

The time I needed some help it was going to be a minimum of 3 months before I could get to talk to anyone.

Useless.

 

[mediocre]

It's definitely an old boys club.

I didn't go out and do the clapping the NHS thing, I thought it utterly cringeworthy.

The time I needed some help it was going to be a minimum of 3 months before I could get to talk to anyone.

Useless.

Good for you! I didn't either in fact I told my neighbour to shut the hell up. I was trying to sleep.

I've been trying to get a diagnosis for years. Everything moves at a snails pace. I tried to go private but found out a lot of those doctors are forced to work in the NHS and are just as slow. So there is no private system. There are no options.

 

[Deleted member 19654]

I'm grateful for the NHS too but it's definitely far from perfect and it's gotten a lot worse over the years. But I'd honestly have the NHS over a healthcare system like the one in the US. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't get heath insurance and to end up being buried in medical debt.

 

[TheQ22]

I'm grateful for the NHS too but it's definitely far from perfect and it's gotten a lot worse over the years. But I'd honestly have the NHS over a healthcare system like the one in the US. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't get heath insurance and to end up being buried in medical debt.

That is one thing, I think in the states if you call an ambulance it's something crazy like $1500 straight off the bat.

In the UK it doesn't cost you anything, but you might be waiting a few hours for them to get to you.

 

[marcusuk63]

Should sue the government after that , is is them who have made it like it is through lack of funding and private contracts to the likes of Branson.
You have to make an appointment with a doctor several weeks before you are ill and when you finaly do go in you are the only person in there that speaks English.
Getting regular prescriptions in nearly impossible and they talk to you like you are a retard . They either tell me i picked it up 2 weeks ago or it isnt due for two weeks .
I got once got them to write the date down when my next one was due and marked on my calendar every 28 days , it lasted 3 months before i got the you picked it up last week , or it`s not due for a week etc, no mater how many times you tell them you didnt they insist you did !
My brother who was fit and healthy had an outdoor manual job and didnt smoke , drink or do drugs got a chest infection , he had to wait two weeks for a doctors appointment , he came to my house , as he did every saturday and my heart dropped to see how ill he looked , he said his appointment was on monday, i told him to ring me when he had been , he didnt ring , or answer text , i drove to his house on the tuesday and had to break in to find him dead ....

So good luck with your case and i hope you win and it`s given full press coverage , although i doubt it will . not when there are more important things to report , like reality "star" spotted flaunting her washboard stomach in a bikini , on a boat .

 

[Deleted member 19654]

That is one thing, I think in the states if you call an ambulance it's something crazy like $1500 straight off the bat.

In the UK it doesn't cost you anything, but you might be waiting a few hours for them to get to you.

I remember watching a documentary on ambulance services in the UK. Like you said, lots of people having to wait a long time till an ambulance arrives. Also because it doesn't cost you anything, you get selfish people calling for some of the most ridiculous reasons along with the idiots that like to make prank calls that wastes even more time.

 

[mediocre]

I'm grateful for the NHS too but it's definitely far from perfect and it's gotten a lot worse over the years. But I'd honestly have the NHS over a healthcare system like the one in the US. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't get heath insurance and to end up being buried in medical debt.

I feel like we've been preprogammed to not criticise the NHS and we feel guilty when we do. Not realising that criticism can make it better and hold it accountable. That's not happening right now. Many doctors are untouchable and thats not right.

In 2020 I shouldn't feel grateful for having a free system when many other countries in the world do and they do it better! They want to make you think that the system we currently have and the US system are the only 2 options. This is a lie!

 

[Deleted member 19654]

I feel like we've been preprogammed to not criticise the NHS and we feel guilty when we do. Not realising that criticism can make it better and hold it accountable. That's not happening right now. Many doctors are untouchable and thats not right.

In 2020 I shouldn't feel grateful for having a free system when many other countries in the world do and they do it better!

That's very true. There's a lot that needs to improve. I've been pretty frustrated with dentistry in the UK lately. Can't register with an NHS dentist in my area and apparently it's been like this for many years so I had to go private. Doesn't quite cost an arm and a leg but definitely not cheap. It would be cheaper to hop on a plane and fly to another country for treatment. But even with NHS dentists I hear that they're pretty crap in terms of the service they provide.

 

[TheQ22]

I think a lot of money probably gets wasted in the NHS because they've got a ridiculous system where they can only buy from approved suppliers, and they over pay like mad for even basic stuff.

In every other industry companies are falling over themselves to give big spenders big discounts to win the business, the NHS and govt depts do it the other way round and pay through the nose.

I also knew a guy who worked at the local hospital as a driver, delivering supplies. Some genius decided it was more cost effective to sub out that work, so he had to apply for his old job, and was told he had to do the same work in half the time for basic (minimum) wage, or he could take £30Kodd redundancy.

He said he nearly hit the guy who interviewed him because he wouldn't listen that he spent 35 hours a week driving all over the county and had to observe speed limits, etc, it was impossible.

He took the money and then was tolf by a friend there was a job as a driver in his department, if he'd had a month or 6 weeks off he could apply for it and nudge, nudge, wink, wink he'd get it, but he refused out of principle.

He then spent the next 18 months drinking himself to death and is sadly no longer with us. His job was all that kept him on the straight and narrow.

I would imagine that they quickly "realised" the department couldn't be run for less money, and they'll now be paying more for the same or a sub standard service.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

But there are some people who seem to think that those who work for the NHS should not be held to the same standard or level of accountability.

Indeed. Credit where it is due and legal action where it is due too. You don't let them get away with fucking up your care just because they gave you fantastic service when you broke your leg.

That's very true. There's a lot that needs to improve. I've been pretty frustrated with dentistry in the UK lately. Can't register with an NHS dentist in my area and apparently it's been like this for many years so I had to go private. Doesn't quite cost an arm and a leg but definitely not cheap. It would be cheaper to hop on a plane and fly to another country for treatment. But even with NHS dentists I hear that they're pretty crap in terms of the service they provide.

NHS dentistry is semi-privatised, but still cheap compared to private. However, if you pay 90 quid for a simple filing when done privately, you get the best white materials and the dentist spends half an hour keying it in. Basically, the materials and craftsmanship is generally better because they have more time and money. I was with a private dentist when I was being well payed and he was excellent.

 

[BipolarGuy]

I'm planning on buying N from C this week.
It should take 2/3 weeks to come through the post.

I'm hoping in that time to give the legal team enough information to pursue the NHS trust on my behalf when I'm gone.
While I'm still here I'll be able to grant permission for the legal team to request my medical records and give them any other info they need.

As I said the hope is that funeral costs will be covered.
Realistically it is likely that rather more money will be claimed than is needed to cover funeral expenses and I'm not quite sure what to do about that.
Certainly I could pay my car off but I only owe about £1k on that now.