Howden House And Terminal Cancer

[geared 311]

Unfortunately, the only way to get taken seriously is to make it a legal AND a financial one.

 

Yep, unfortunately thats the truth.

No-one is actually going to apologise for it.

 

The OP needs to take the letter to a lawyer, the exact wording will be important.

 

Obviously divulging personal medical information is not legal, if that is what they have indeed done.

 

In fact if it is a letter from the council then you also need to know how they have gold hold of your fathers medical records in the first place.

[MissJP 13]

Going by what you said. Would this then mean that they are stating that they actually expect the person to live less than 6 months? If so, the outcome of investigating this may cause even more upset if that is the case. Hopefully not though.

 

In our case the prognosis was longer, but we were given this info about the benefit and the blue badge before any length of time was given at all and by a support worker, not a doctor/consultant. So when we did get the news, it could have been more or less, they just didn't know at this stage.

 

They really did make sure we knew that it would state a life expectancy of no longer than 6 months but to not to take that as a prognosis.

 

x

[Epic Fail 10]

In our case the prognosis was longer, but we were given this info about the benefit and the blue badge before any length of time was given at all and by a support worker, not a doctor/consultant. So when we did get the news, it could have been more or less, they just didn't know at this stage.

 

They really did make sure we knew that it would state a life expectancy of no longer than 6 months but to not to take that as a prognosis.

 

x

 

Thanks. That's good to hear then. Well not good, but you know what I mean.

[Bludragonfly 10]

Sorry to hear your news.

 

We are in a similar position. We were told of the blue badge and also a benefit that are available after a terminal diagnosis.

 

We were told that it would state on all paperwork that they did not expect the patient to live longer than 6 months but to not take this as a prognosis, its just to make the benefits available. They stressed to us that it did not mean the patient had 6 months left to live.

 

I would guess it is the same thing here and so probably does not mean that is the prognosis for your father in law.

 

Insensitive all the same.

 

Hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

Horrible situation to be in.

 

x

 

 

I am sorry to hear of the ill-health of your member of family and that of the original poster. I think the explanation should help Vizzbucks who asked the original question.

 

If this is someone's first claim for a Blue Badge there will have to have been a medical reason / confirmation that the application can proceed. It appears that another letter has been included in the envelope in error - it shouldn't have happened but occasionally it does especially when very busy.

 

Vizzbucks, I can't imagine the trauma you and your family are facing today. I hope that as the initial shock and anger settles down over the next few weeks it might, I say might, turn out to be a positive thing to happen. There will be no more whispering in the kitchen amongst the family, time for conversations that none of us ever want to have, time to recognise that this kind of timescale information is even less accurate than a nine month pregnancy can be.

 

Once you are over this shock try and make the most of every day rather thank thinking of each day as a timer. There will be good days and bad days, certainly in the short term so I hope you can find family things to do together.

 

On a practical note from the post I have quoted it might be possible for your family to claim some benefits so it might be worth you looking into that

 

I really am sorry that you are all in this position today. I hope you get the explanation that you require

[loulou32 10]

That's awful. The team responsible for the error are likely to be customer services on the 2nd floor in Howden House. They are very good at covering up complaints so I would make sure they deal with it properly.

[999tigger 10]

Sorry to hear this OP and by now you should have gotten an explanation as to what happened and to why the letter was included.

 

Reading the replies I hope that was Missjp said is the case and that the 6 months is just an administrative tool to make the benefit available rather than a prognosis by itself. You should be able to find that out from the sender of the letter.

 

If it is a prognosis, then be aware that they can be very hit or miss and that people can go much sooner or last much longer. I can only say make the most of each day.

 

In terms of complaining, then we don know if anything has gone wrong and hopefully MissJps experience is an actual reflection. I would be very sceptical of people suggesting legal action or compensation.

 

What you can do is find out why it has happened, get an apology if they are at fault and make sure it doesnt happen to anyone else through a change of procedure.

 

The complaints procedure is long and detailed but everything is listed in the link below.

 

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/healthcare_e/healthcare_nhs_healthcare_e/nhs_and_local_authority_social_services_complaints.htmhttp://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/healthcare_e/healthcare_nhs_healthcare_e/nhs_and_local_authority_social_services_complaints.htm#h_making_a_complaint_about_the_nhs_or_local_authority_social_services

[onewheeldave 22]

We don't want a legal matter, no financial gain etc, we just want to know who is responsible, and why / how it happened.

 

As my mother in law said, if anything financial does come out of it, then it's donated to the cancer research charity, but that is not why we are perusing it, she just wants answers

 

I understand why you wouldn't want to make this into a legal matter, and it is your choice- I'm sure you and the family have got far better things to spend your time on at the moment.

 

However, these council departments make errors like this on a routine basis and get away scot free. They treat people like dirt, and, while it's difficult to believe, they often treat terminally ill people the same way.

 

Please do get in touch with a solicitor- maybe you can just give them all the info and evidence and leave it up to them to get the consequences that this department richly deserves.

 

That way, maybe the council starts taking these things seriously, and, as a result, terminally ill patients in the future get spared what your father has had to go through.

 

And, like you say, any financial settlement can be donated to a charity of your choice, if you and the family prefer.

[999tigger 10]

On what basis do you think they have a legal claim never mind some sort of financial settlement. Perhaps it was just an honest mistake or perhaps it was as missjp said.

 

Waste of time imo.

[Mr Clowning 10]

The council are idiots, full stop.

 

This topic has got me so mad and I don't even know Vizzbucks.

[onewheeldave 22]

On what basis do you think they have a legal claim never mind some sort of financial settlement. Perhaps it was just an honest mistake or perhaps it was as missjp said.

 

Waste of time imo.

 

I don't think they have a legal claim- I think they may have, in which case, asking a solicitor to look into it seems like a good idea.

 

Not because it could yield cash, but because the council, and Howden house in particular, has a solid track record of treating their 'clients' shoddily, including clients who are terminally ill, and, call me old-fashioned, but I happen to think that terminally ill people have way too much on their plate to have to deal, in addition, with abuse from these departments.

 

And they're (Howden house/council) not going to change unless they are made to be accountable for their mistakes/ineptness.

[cgksheff 44]

I'm sorry, but we have not been told who had actually been advised regarding the poor chaps wishes?

 

Was the stated wish included with the application to Howden House for the pass?

[999tigger 10]

I don't think they have a legal claim- I think they may have, in which case, asking a solicitor to look into it seems like a good idea.

 

Not because it could yield cash, but because the council, and Howden house in particular, has a solid track record of treating their 'clients' shoddily, including clients who are terminally ill, and, call me old-fashioned, but I happen to think that terminally ill people have way too much on their plate to have to deal, in addition, with abuse from these departments.

 

And they're (Howden house/council) not going to change unless they are made to be accountable for their mistakes/ineptness.

 

Dont you think giving statements and being involved in litigation is stressful? If he wants to make a complaint then he should use the channels that are there for that purpose. You are talking about abuse when the facts have not been established. Ysing the proper channels i.e ombudsman, quality care commission etc are all likely to be able to change policy so it doesnt happen to other people. It is what they are there for.