Sharon Wilson index
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Sharon Wilson has had multiple serious illnesses for more than twenty years. Some of the illnesses were probably caused by inappropriate medical treatment. In particular Cushing’s Syndrome is explained in the article on the Med Help International website as follows:
She has been badly served by the national health service. Possible side effects of treatments were not adequately explained. Treatments with serious side effects were not adequately monitored. Some medication that was actually contra-indicated was prescribed without warning. Some tests were incompetently performed. Anomalous recent tests were taken at face value instead of retesting, as a result of which long-standing diagnoses were assumed on inadequate evidence no longer to be applicable. When she complained, some complaints were upheld, but the results of others were inconclusive, possibly because responsibility is diffused over too many people and documentary evidence is inadequate. There were also incidents of deliberate taunting by doctors, possibly as reprisals for submitting complaints. It may be too late to reopen the formal complaints now about the medical treatment and other unprofessional conduct. But as a consequence of some of her complaints not being proved to the satisfaction of the NHS, Selby and York Primary Care Trust, its partners and predecessors have mistreated her and continue to do so even though many of the personalities involved have changed. The PCT's accountability is impaired because its non-executive directors are appointed or co-opted and not accountable to anybody in the community served by the PCT. Furthermore some GPs are influential not only through the Professional Executive Committee but also as members of the Trust Board. Their presence on the Board may tend to inhibit effective investigation of complaints against GPs' practices, including their own. This will be a problem with all primary care trusts. While the complaints system provides for independent review, there are procedural hurdles and time limits. Without effective support a complainant suffering from debilitating illnesses may lose a valid complaint for purely procedural reasons. Also, when the grounds for complaint have built up over many years it becomes more difficult to manage the huge volume of evidence that could be used to substantiate the complaint and to identify and fill gaps in the evidence. Despite her serious medical conditions, Sharon Wilson is not registered with a general practitioner. She was formally notified in 2004 by the former chief executive of Selby and York Primary Care Trust that the Trust itself had labelled her unilaterally as a persistent and vexatious complainant, although her complaints were against the Trust and the Trust has never substantiated the labelling. In consequence she was to be rotated among four GP practices in York. In practice this rotation has been at irregular intervals that have been as short as a week. While the letter stated that the application of the vexatious complainants policy would be reviewed after three months, in its latest application it applied for two and a half years and replaced by telephone only access to NHS Direct. She was also denied access to out of hours GP services. A letter dated 19 January 1999 formally instructed to call an ambulance if she needed out of hours attention. It is noteworthy that proven examples of professional misconduct that Sharon Wilson brought to light relate to the out of hours service. At least one other patient, whose name Sandra has been confused with Sharon Wilson, has had similar sanctions imposed. When Sharon Wilson drew my attention to her experience, I considered that the priority should be to get her proper medical attention rather than to publicise the way she had been neglected and misdiagnosed and given inappropriate treatment without warning or monitoring. Accordingly I wrote to the chief executive of Selby and York Primary Care Trust on 28 October 2005 drawing attention to the injustice of the unsubstantiated "vexatious complainant" label and requesting that it be removed and normal services restored. My letter was acknowledged on 7 November 2005 with a statement that the issues raised would be investigated. Since then the frequent rotation between GPs continued and in November 2006 replaced by telephone access to NHS Direct and withdrawal of all GP services. Subsequently the Healthcare Commission found some procedural irregularities, but did not address the issue that a seriously ill patient is not receiving regular attention or monitoring. The unsatisfactory GP rotation was resumed. Sharon Wilson's case is illuminating about how an NHS body which (as a strong argument can be made) is itself doing wrong can make an exception to the statutory procedures to resolve disputes. So the Patient Advisory Liaison Service (PALS) was instructed not to communicate with her. Even the Citizens' Advice Bureau, which is contracted to provide the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) surprisingly wrote to her on 11 October 2005 as follows:
So much for the independence of ICAS accepting an unsubstantiated labelling without challenge. The Department of Health and Member of Parliament advise use of statutory procedures such as ICAS (as I did when I first became aware of Sharon Wilson's experiences), but in practice the statutory procedures are not working. York Hospitals NHS TrustSharon Wilson's experience with the local hospitals is also bad. She was discharged because her conditions were long-standing and offered out patient appointments that she was unable to attend. York City CouncilSharon Wilson has also been badly served by York City Council both through Social Services and through Housing. Social Services were influenced by the "vexatious complainant" label and insensitive to her physical needs. Her housing conditions are badly affected by damp, as is shown by the photographs [pdf] of the damp cockroach infested shower room and other damp areas, but she cannot get rehousing or redress for young neighbours pestering her. What must be done?
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Sheila
Porter-Williams |