BODY BLOW
A DISASTROUS trip to the dentist for root canal surgery left Naomi Darling with an agonising infection that lasted two years and triggered chronic ME. She also lost her front teeth when the supporting bone disintegrated. It later transpired she may not have even needed it.
After exhausting all avenues for redress from the NHS, she turned to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), convinced she had a cast-iron case.
When describing their experiences with the ombudsman to Private Eye, Naomi and other complainants spoke of a combative response, inexplicable delays, poor communication, an unmanageable burden of proof, endless emails, and, ultimately, the NHS body’s word carrying far more weight than theirs.