LETTERS Medical misunderstandings
Sir: I must congratulate you on Alasdair Palmer's article on the cruel unaccountabil- ity of doctors (Now then, what seems to be the trouble?', 29 July). My husband died of cancer last month but compared with the instances cited in Mr Palmer's article, my husband's mistreatment was not too bad. There was the usual bungling incompetence and lack of courtesy throughout 21/2 years of pain. There were the letters, faxes and phone calls not responded to until too late; I received a reply to our last pleas for help in a letter addressed to my husband by his consultant dated six days after his death. But there was only one cast-iron case of real medical mismanagement.
This occurred when he was referred to a consultant in pain management, who fitted him with an epidural feeding diamorphine from a syringe driver into his spine. After three months of managing this device at home, the pain had reached the level where it was necessary to give 20 mgs of diamor- phine a day. The consultant suggested leav- ing the diamorphine out of the syringe driv- er for 24 hours to see what happened. We duly filled the syringe with distilled water. My husband promptly began to vomit and go mad. As this took place over a weekend, there was rather sketchy medical back-up in the form of a locum GP who knew nothing of my husband's case. Dealing with a cancer patient, who is suffering the full-blown hor- rors of heroin withdrawal in addition to the agonies of a secondary cancer of the lower spine, with no one to help except my 15- and 13-year-old sons, is not something I would wish anyone else to go through.
Although distracted by pain and grief, I did complain to the appropriate authori- ties. I quote from their reply: 'I am confi- dent that the clinical care given to your hus- band . . . met our normal high standards.'
What can be done? My husband and I joined an excellent organisation called the National Cancer Alliance (PO Box 579, Oxford 0X4 1LB; tel: 01865 793566; fax: 01865 251050), which seems well on the way to forming an effective pressure group to improve cancer care and unmask mal- practice.
Abigail Mozley
8 Woodlane, Falmouth
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