C Diff special report - ‘When I complained I was treated like rubbish’

- 30 December 1899;Kent Messenger

Families who sued the NHS over the way the C-diff outbreaks were handled two years ago have now been told what went wrong for their loved ones.

Around twenty families have been made small offers of compensation and received letters explaining failures in their relatives’ care.

Marian Kinnison, whose mother Marjorie Watts died in Maidstone hospital in January 2005, also sued the Trust.

She said: ‘The letter admitted failures in care and it apologises three times. It doesn’t get any easier to deal with and I don’t think there will ever be a completely satisfactory outcome. I just try not to think about her last days too much.

Clinical Negligence solicitor Sarah Harman, who represented 20 families suing the NHS, said most of the claims had been settled with the letters and small amounts of compensation.

She said: ‘Money was not the prime motivation. The claims will probably total less than the money claimed by Rose Gibb. The letters of apology were hugely welcomed. They were sensitively written by long overdue. It should have been unnecessary for families to have the stress of potential legal proceedings. But I do feel they should take credit for persisting with them. I hope trusts treat the care of the elderly and vulnerable patients as a higher priority in the future.’