Scott West
Trust Headquarters
Chainton County Hospital
Hailgood Road
Chainton
AZ1 1ZA
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7th November 2011
Your (Complaint) Ref: P12345
NHS no: 012 345 6789
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Dear Scott West
Thank you for your letter dated 5 October 2011 and your expressed concerns.
Death by a thousand cuts! Neither you nor I want a lengthy, complex and time consuming dissection and examination of every problem and the problems raised by the investigation into those problems.
However my life and that of my daughter have been ruined by the torrent of casual manipulation, deception, irresponsibility and even overt damage foisted on us from many official bodies and individuals.
I would like to make one point very clear. I am grateful for all the good things that people have done. I am grateful to you for your responsible and kind attention and communication. I am very happy with the generous and sympathetic aspects of the response from Megan Ford. I am extremely moved by, and pleased with, the skill, care, attention and good will we experienced at the hands of Biston hospital and most of the staff.
And then there are the bits that I am not happy with. So, for example, I do not take kindly to statements from Megan like "I have spoken to the nurses about your experience. They are surprised and upset to hear that you feel that you were manipulated and lied to." That is, unfortunately, manipulation in itself and it is divisive and unfair. It is unfair to those nurses and unfair to me and my daughter. Many of the nurses were kind and sympathetic and to represent my complaint to those nurses as if I were complaining about them is a serious misunderstanding and misrepresentation of my comments. Even with my appalling budget I bought them an expensive box of chocolates to show our appreciation of their kindness; It was not because I thought they were all manipulative liars.
Also, I get very frustrated at casual illogical statements. Megan explains that their records show I called at 18:49 hrs and so my suggestion that an appointment was made for 02:20 hrs was probably a matter of poor communication (implying my error). I did call at 18:49 hrs but I called again at about 02:00 hrs. Their records should show that too!
Megan's letter is full of kindness and sympathy and that is good. I am very happy that she has found certain issues which can be addressed such as the procedures and facilities for dealing with teenagers and young adults. It is heartening to know that a gentle reminder of the importance of meticulous care when administering intravenous medication has been communicated. These things are good and I would not represent them otherwise.
I do think the issue of "Patient refused treatment" needs resolving. I have heard many people complain of being "accused" of refusing treatment and without an alternative this is a default blame trap. Even "Patient declined treatment" would be kinder and less prone to misuse.
There are two issues that I feel have not been resolved and would I would appreciate further clarification and investigation.
1. Megan states "I was extremely concerned to hear that you feel staff were lying in order to administer intravenous pain killer medication. I have investigated this matter and I am satisfied that the nursing staff were working in the best interests of your daughter by trying to achieve the treatment prescribed by the doctors." Given the tacit
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