Published on 12, July, 2020
After many years and periods of employment and sickness I finally realised a couple of years ago that I might have a condition on the autism spectrum and after a hard fought battle getting a diagnosis I finally received one in September last year hense I am now going to finally be able to at least address my problems. However about 6 years ago I went for a mental health assessment and the doctor diagnosed me as Schitzoid Personality - a diagnosis I wholly disagreed with - this diagnosis was based upon a meeting that lasted about an hour and after receiving the diagnosis a few weeks later I really began to worry that I might be crazy so the wrong diagnosis had a bad impact on me.
I have also had many other wrong diagnoses throughout my life mostly from GP's these range from depression / anxiety / stress / nervous debility and personality disorder - NEVER did any doctor consider anything about the Autism spectrum, never was I asked any particular questions about it ever at all and the first time I suggested it to my GP about 2 years ago I was told not to waste my time, and asked what use a diagnosis would be ?
I am now 44 years old - I really feel someone somewhere down the line someone should have suggested/noticed something rather than just labelling me as a depressive, obviously I was depressed but that's mainly because of struggling with everyday things like speaking and I would certainly expect a qualified mental health doctor giving me an assessment to at least be able to notice certain signs of a condition on the autism spectrum rather than labelling me as having a severe mental health condition, there is a huge difference. My latest assessment says I have no mental health issues whatsoever.
If someone is misdiagnosed for a physical condition and the misdiagnosis means the problem continuing for longer than necessary then they can sue - is my case any different. I took a dislike to the doctor, he seemed to have a lack of interest from the start of the assessment and seemed to just pick up on a few points which he then fit into his wrong diagnosis - for example I told him I felt uncomfortable on the way to the hospital because someone was walking about 4 foot behind me for a few hundred yards, he obviously assumed this meant I had some kind of paranoia rather than it being about my personal space.
Would like to know what anyone thinks, thanks.
Paul
Easy said:I just dont approve of sueing the NHS, I think its iresponsible and mean.You may have a case but it seems a huge waste of time and money for everyone, including you. I expect the legal fees and admin costs would far exceed any compensation.
I just dont approve of sueing the NHS, I think its iresponsible and mean.
You may have a case but it seems a huge waste of time and money for everyone, including you. I expect the legal fees and admin costs would far exceed any compensation.
I tend to agree with Easy. The NHS have not caused you a life-threatening or life-changing injury as such. And suing the NHS at a time when it is being asked to make £20 billion efficiency savings may just take away monies that could have otherwise been spent on patient care.
You could put in an official complaint and ask for your past diagnosises to be re-examinated, to try and find out why you were misdiagnosed or whether there was any professional neglect involved.
Similarly, Autism and its diagnosis and understanding of the condition has developed over the later half of the 20th century. Asperger Syndrome did not become more widely recognised until the 1990s, after Dr Hans Asperger's work was translated into English and made more widely available outside of Germany. Therefore, your mis-diagnosis may have been simply due to a lack of knowledge of Autism and how it can affect people in different ways and its varying degrees of severity and so on.