What to do if you have concerns about your care
If you feel the medical care you have received falls short of the standard you are entitled to expect, you have the following options :
Raise concerns directly with your doctor – since 2015 there has been an NHS Duty of Candour.
If your concern is with an NHS hospital, consider the Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) and or writing a formal complaint to the NHS Trust’s Chief Executive in line with the Trust’s complaints procedure – PALS can help you with that.
If your concern is with a GP or GP practice, consider writing a letter of complaint to your GP’s Practice Manager.
Seek help and support from Haemochromatosis UK – the leading UK charity supporting people affected by Genetic Haemochromatosis.
Obtain legal advice from medical negligence specialists, such as Fletchers Solicitors.
To pursue a claim for compensation it will be necessary to instruct a firm of solicitors specialising in clinical negligence work. On your behalf they will retain medical experts with a national and sometimes international reputation. It is they who will advise on whether or not care has fallen below an acceptable standard and whether any failures they identify have caused or materially contributed to a physical or psychological injury.
Specialist solicitors know who to retain, what questions to ask and how to evaluate the strength of the medical evidence obtained.
Time Limits
You have one year in which to make a complaint under the NHS complaints procedure.
In most cases, you have three years to bring a medical negligence claim, starting from the point you knew (or ought to have known) that something went wrong and resulted in injury.
Sometimes exceptions are made but do not take the risk by delaying seeking advice.
Who do I bring a claim against?
Clinical negligence claims can be brought against general practitioners, hospitals and all healthcare providers.
Compensation
Unmanaged iron overload can have a significant impact on your health, daily life and finances.
If avoidable harm has occurred, compensation may help ease some of the financial pressures you face.
Funding Your Claim
Understandably, people who are faced with issues following medical negligence might be worried about how they will pay for a specialist lawyer to help them. Most claims can be funded through a ‘No Win, No Fee’ agreement, with specialist insurance that offers additional protection against certain legal costs.
Who are Fletchers Solicitors?
Fletchers Solicitors are a firm of specialist solicitors, with offices nationwide. They are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (number 48761).