Should I complain?

Question

I banged my mouth early this year and the swelling was terrible. I couldnt eat, move my mouth or sleep and was in constant pain. One of the doctors I saw at the hospital in torbay a&e said "oh we have been talking about you. its just swelling go home" he didnt look at my mouth or anything, just said that sentance and left. In the end it took 4 visits to hospital and 2 visits to the doctors, 6 x-rays, 2 lots of anti inflamitories, diclofenac, liquid morphine and 2 lots of antibiotics to find out i had an absess!!! By this time I had to have my gums cut open and teeth removed and was asked to stay in hospital on an IV antibiotic drip because the infection had got so bad. If the doctor at the hospital had listened to me to begin with ( i knew it wasnt "just swelling") I wouldnt have ended up on morphine and having all that dental work. Do you think I should complain as he obviously didn't care. What if someone gets really ill because he couldnt be bothered to check them out?

Sorry I should be a bit clearer, I have no interest in compensation or anything like that I just want to see this doctor told off as he could seriously cause damage to someone. bare in mind that at the point of seeing him i had no x-rays etc that all came about 7 days later!

Answer 1

You MUST complain. This was negligence and unprofessional.
I am surprised you have waited so long.

Answer 2

I'm sorry you had such an awful time. The first thing to do is write to the Complaints Manager at the hospital - all hospitals have one. Write down exactly what happened with as much detail as possible including times, dates, medications given. Be as factual as possible too, this will strengthen your case instead of coming across as angry and vengeful. The complaint will be answered within a set period of time after all the facts have been established. Unfortunately I suspect all you will get is a formal apology, but behind the scenes that doctor should get some kind of restriction on his practice until he's proved he's not incompetent. If you're still not happy with the outcome, you could see a solicitor and find out what else can be done, but you should still go down the formal complaint route first to give yourself the best chance. Good luck :)

Answer 3

I definetly would, i hate doctors that do that like our insurance companies and us don't pay enough. I would go through your insurance co. first and complaint to them saying that if this doctor would have checked you in the first place they wouldn't have to pay all of these money because a result would have been given then and then move on from there. I believe too that hospitals and doctors should mail to the patients what was done to them and once the patient agrees with the services then send it to the insurance co. Hospitals and doctors lie and cheat over services too much and then we are the ones paying for their cheating habits. Hope u definately got better!! Good luck!

Answer 4

I hope that you feel better now and are on the road to recovery. Good for you for not giving up when you knew that something wasn't right with your body.
I would complain, or make it know to others that the doctor didn't check you out properly the first time.
But it's up to you how far you go with it, you could call the local paper and get them to run a story to encourage others not to give up and to look out for their own health rather than just accept the word of a doctor who couldn't be bothered to even check them out in the first place.

Answer 5

Definately; there needs to be a case review so that the healthcare professionals can learn from your experience.

Be objective in your complaint, include as much detail - including dates, times, names and places but at the same time be concise.

Sounds like you had a raw deal - hope you're better now.

Answer 6

That might be difficult as they did xrays and tests and could see anything, and a swelling is normal after a bang and very often the teeth recover .It might be your nerves didn't and died subsequently, that's the reason you needed the dental-work.
Unfortunately it is impossible to predict. I hope your treatment is now finished

Answer 7

personally I think you should complain - too often shocking service / treatment like this goes un reprimanded cos people are too lazy / embarassed to complain! but like you said - by complaining you could actually save someone else going thru what you;ve been thru - or possibly even save someone's life!

Answer 8

oh poor you, yes complain until someone listens,
good luck
I dont know who or where you need to complain, but the citizen advice may beable to help

Answer 9

if i was you i would complain, things like this need to be drawn to the attention of the hospitals..

Answer 10

Yes - becuase they will continue to do stupid mistakes unless confronted.