PATIENTS LIVES MATTER Because Patients Lives DO Matter
Some of Our Experiences
Today, Saturday, 9th September 2023, marks one month since the tragic passing of Balram on August 9, 2023, at the hands of St. Thomas's Hospital in London.
Balram Patel was 30 years old but developmentally delayed at the age of an 8 year old. He was affectionately known as “Our Baby, Balram” to his family.
The heartbreaking story of Balram's untimely demise is marked by a history of St. Thomas hospital-related incidents.
On December 27, 2007, Balram suffered a traumatic episode at Evelina Children's Hospital, a part of the St. Thomas’s hospital network. During this traumatic episode, Balram had a cardiac arrest after a consultant administered a full dose of propofol after an allergy band was incorrectly removed by him. The allergy band stated that Balram was ‘allergic and hypersensitive to propofol’. Further more the father objected to the propofol being given , Balram miraculously survived that ordeal.
However, history repeated itself on August 9, 2023 with more St. Thomas’s hospital errors - but this time Balram died at the hands of NHS staff.
Discharged from the hospital on August 3, he was put on an already tried and failed administration of his medication, despite Jay's strong concerns that it would not work and requests for a second opinion. This was never provided.
During the following days Balram’s health started to significantly deteriorate. On 7th August Balram's father’s pleas for help went unanswered by the hospital despite desperate calls to the specialist team informing them the medication was not working and that his son was dying.
He said: “My son is dying” and was told, “Yes we know”, and was then told “We have to trial the application” despite his father saying he doesn’t have the privilege to continue trialing the application and asking “Why can’t we revert to the application that worked before?”.
The family took it upon themselves to rush Balram to A&E on 8th August where they were failed yet again. Balram tragically passed away at 4:42am on 9th August 2023. His unnecessary death occurred three hours after finally reinstating the application of medication that had previously worked for him during his hospital stay.
The fathers pleas some 40 hours earlier to reapply the treatment known to work were in vain.
Jay Patel's heart-wrenching journey has led him to take action.
"Patients Lives Matter" is his response to the suffering he and his family endured and the countless others who have faced similar tragedies.
Recent statistics from 2022-2023 indicate a staggering 13,500 cases of early patient deaths attributed to hospital cover-ups and negligence. 90,000 more suffer from adverse effects.
Jay Patel asks: "How many more need to die before a change is made?"
To address this pressing issue, Jay Patel has initiated a parliamentary petition titled: "Create an independent body to investigate complaints against NHS staff and bodies." He believes that hospitals and their staff have hidden behind a curtain of protection for far too long, and it's time for them to take full responsibility for their actions. The current complaints system, including the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), has proven inadequate in many cases, failing to facilitate swift second opinions when warranted.
Mr. Patel's petition aims to establish a completely independent body that will oversee and investigate complaints against all NHS staff and bodies. This body will act swiftly to minimise harm, pain, suffering, and, at times, even loss of life when medical failures occur.
Mr. Patel is driven by his own personal tragic loss and is committed to championing this change.
He also wants people to share their experiences of failures that could have been avoided with him at jay@patientslivesmatter.co.uk.
Mr. Patel emphasizes that while individually, they may be considered "nothing" by the authorities, together, they are a "something."
With the loss of Balram and 13,511 others in the past year, Jay Patel and the "Patients Lives Matter" foundation are determined to put an end to preventable patient deaths and suffering.
They refuse to sit back and allow routine NHS negligence to continue unchecked.
