mam died in hospital, hospital want list of questions

Hi all, my mam died last week in hospital. I dropped her up for routine procedure and was told to pick her up in hour and half. Long story short, when I got back to hospital my Mam was gone. Instead of bringing her home, I was phoning all my family to get to the hospital.
About 5 mins later a doctor comes and tells me, sorry these things happen, blah blah blah.

I phoned hospital to see if I could speak with someone who could talk me through what happened. The hospital got back to me last night at 4.45, over a week after mam died, and said a meeting would be fine, but how many would I be bringing. They also asked me for a list of questions I may want answered.
I guess my question is, if I for example wrote and told them I had ten questions, would they then only answer me those questions I had pre-asked. Im asking because everyday I have more questions, and find it odd that they seem to be holding me to questions they know of in advance.
Bottom line for me is, I want to know why my mother walked in a door, and never walked out of it.

Thanks for any advice.

Jake

nuac

Sorry about your bereavement in such circumstances

If your mother died as described you are entitled to an explanation from the doctor(s) who were in charge. You should also ask to meet the senior nurses involved. YOu are also entitled to see all records of her admission and treatment, and copy of the post-mortem report. Ask to see all notes on her treatment, whether handwritten or on computer.Also seek confirmation that all tissues, samples slides xrays etc will be retained for further examination if necessary.

Do not be fobbed off by a meeting with some manager who was not directly involved. One of such manager's roles would be minimise the exposure of the HSE to litigation over the incident, and to suggest that you "move on". A clue might be in the title used in some hospitals "risk manager"

Was any explanation sent to her GP?

You can bring I imagine one or two relatives or friends to a meeting. A larger meeting might become unmanageable.

They would probably object to meeting you accompanied by a solicitor.

They are not entitled to demand that you submit a list of questions - You may indeed have questions when you consider what they tell you and give you.

Tale some notes and write up a full note of the meeting immediately afterwards. They would probably object to the meeting being recorded.

I presume there will be an inquest. You should appoint a solicitor with litigation experience well in advance so that they can consider what further documents or witnesses would be required.

If at the meeting you are told that your mother died from some extremely rare occurence which was unforseeable and undetectable etc start serious enquiries.

Good luck

Thanks a million for your time . They do seem to be all about themselves at this point. They never called me to offer condolences, or off any explanation. I just plan on myself and my partner attending, with maybe our solicitor. It had never occured to me, until I started thinking about some of their behaviour.
My mam had blood tests to check her blood was ok for the procedure, also other tests, and yet, she died. The doctor who I called Damage Controll , told me she'd have died soon anyway, as if it didnt matter so..

Also I think the coroner will be calling for full inquest. No they didnt write to her GP, as I know of, anyway.

As for the questions, I have so many for them.

Thanks again, so much.

nuac

OK Jake1 best of luck.

Suggest you get a solicitor on board soonest and be guided by him/her.

E.g. if specialist medical advice is needed, may have to consult someone outside the country.

drkpower

Nuac, Im sure you mean well, but your rush to involve solicitors is a little premature. While it appears there is a very unfortunate lack of communication going on here, the reality is that people do die, even unexpectedly, when they go into Hospital. Of course it is possible that there has been some kind of error here, but you seem to be rushing to judgment a little.

MagicSean

drkpower wrote: »

Nuac, Im sure you mean well, but your rush to involve solicitors is a little premature. While it appears there is a very unfortunate lack of communication going on here, the reality is that people do die, even unexpectedly, when they go into Hospital. Of course it is possible that there has been some kind of error here, but you seem to be rushing to judgment a little.

+1. Op you have my deepest condolences. While you may be feeling upset and confused don't assume you won't have your answers after the meeting. I presume you were asked for a list of questions so you could get the answers you wanted. You haven't said what was wrong with your mother or what kind of procedure she was undergoing or what the cause of death was stated as so there is very little anyone here can help you understand. It is a little pointless to involve a solicitor at this point though. If anything, you should bring your mothers GP to the meeting with you, or someone with medical training that can help you understand what is being said.

Thanks for the replys. I do think asking the GP might be a good idea, I hadnt thought of that.
I do understand people die, I really do, I just want some clarification, you know. I just have some questions, and I may not have all the questions in advance of meeting. But I think I may just go through the GP.

Thanks to all.

Jake

FreudianSlippers

I have to agree with drkpower and k_mac here, they want a list of questions so that they can have answers for you if you have specifics.... ask everything you can think of. I doubt that they will be purposely avoiding your questions on the spot, rather they are looking to have all answers to any questions you may have.
There is no rush to initiate litigation, so why involve a solicitor - see what they have to say, find out how your mum died and as much as you can stay analytical about it.

This is going to be an emotional situation for you and your family, so you need to be sure you are questioning the standard of the care they gave your mother without being too rash in blaming the hospital for her death.
I certainly would agree that if you can get her GP to attend that would be good... certainly if it ends up that there was an underlying illness that the GP was negligent in missing.

If anything seems odd then you can ask a solicitor what your options are.

knetworks

sorry to hear about your mother,what age was she?how was her health in general,

Shield

I don't have any advice or answers for you Jake1, but I just wanted to offer my condolences to you and your family at this very difficult time. I hope you get the answers you're looking for.

Our man in Havana

+1

I just wanted to add my condolences to you in this very difficult time.

Thanks so much for the kind words. They are much appreciated.

Ill let you all know what happens.

mkdon05

Jayz Jake1, I cant offer any words of advice for you but I would like to offer my deepest condolences. Sometimes it takes reading someone elses misfortune to put things into perspective for other people. Best wishes!!