This is not a petition about mass scandals affecting hundreds. This is about the thousands of individuals failed quietly—one by one—by a system that dismisses, delays, and denies. I wasn’t harmed by a single catastrophic event. I was harmed by years of misdiagnosis, refusal to listen, and systemic neglect. And I won’t be the only one. This petition is for every person whose suffering was buried to protect the system.

For over 15 years, I’ve lived with the consequences of medical negligence by Rotherham NHS and local GP practices. In 2010, I developed lymphoedema. Between 2010 and 2013, I was repeatedly told my symptoms would “subside”—but no one diagnosed anything. In 2013, I was misdiagnosed with a blood clot and given anticoagulants on and off until 2017/18. In 2016, I suffered a haemorrhage while on rivaroxaban—because there was no clot to clear.

When I was finally diagnosed correctly, I was denied treatment until I changed GP. What followed was years of suffering:

• Nearly a total of 4 years in bandaging, leading to sepsis
• No treatment again until 2024, by which time I had an injury requiring reconstruction which has still not been assessed by a surgeon.
• Constant antibiotics increasing injuries.
• I received two iron infusions in 2024—eight years after the haemorrhage—my blood results are still abnormal.
• Consultants and Surgeons refuse to engage with me, citing infection risk, while my condition worsens
• I haven’t had a holiday in years. When I requested respite, it is not granted— instead used against me, as if I were refusing treatment
• I lost out on my Master’s degree after being deemed unfit to study
• I lost out on employment because the Job Centre refused to help me find work, fearing liability if anything happened
• My only route into work has been self-employment, but the NHS is infringing on that too
• Despite being protected under the Disability Discrimination Act, the NHS refuses to accommodate my right to work
• My request to work is twisted into a refusal of treatment—yet I’m not improving and I’m not being offered alternatives, so my right to work is coming second
• I’m now being considered for an avoidable amputation

I have spina bifida. I grew up with a normal childhood and early adulthood. I was 26 when my health began to decline. Now, at 41, I find myself begging for basic freedoms—freedoms I should never have to ask for. I’m told by district nurses that it’s “normal” for disabled people to be housebound—that my life is no different from others. But it is. This was done to me.

Social services, GPs, and advocates in Rotherham have failed to report, protect, or uphold my rights. Their inaction has rendered me invisible. But I refuse to stay invisible.

This year, Rotherham ICB refused to investigate my case—despite ongoing harm—because it’s been going on for 15 years. They labelled it “historic.” But the damage is still happening. That’s not accountability. That’s avoidance. NHS England also refused to take my complaint seriously when I first reported it at the time of the misdiagnosis. Advocates have since admitted they failed to submit relevant and more recent complaints on my behalf and on time—and apologised. Yet the ICB still refuses to take those into account, despite multiple attempts on my part. This is exactly why we need legal reform: when the NHS covers up long-term failures, patients are denied justice simply because time has passed.

Campaign Focus: Individual Harm, Systemic Neglect

This campaign is not about mass scandals. It’s about the quiet, chronic failures that happen to individuals—failures that don’t make headlines, but destroy lives. I wasn’t harmed by a contaminated product or a single procedure. I was harmed by years of inaction, misdiagnosis, and refusal to listen.

Why This Matters

In some cases, the harm caused to patients may reflect systemic biases or discriminatory attitudes—where decisions are influenced not by medical need, but by how a patient is perceived.

Mass scandals get inquiries. Individual cases get ignored.
Systemic neglect is harder to trace—but no less devastating.
Historic harm doesn’t disappear after two years. It lives on in our bodies, our records, and our lives.

What I’m Petitioning For

A change in the law to allow historic NHS negligence cases to be investigated
A public inquiry into systemic failures in NHS complaint handling
Mandatory accountability for practitioners involved in proven malpractice
A patient-first approach to care, advocacy, and justice

Who This Is For

This is for every person whose suffering was dismissed.
For every patient told “it’s normal” when it wasn’t.
For every disabled person denied the right to work, travel, or live freely.
For every individual whose case was buried to protect the system.

Why I’m Speaking Out

I have tried every route to avoid this and failed. This petition calls out medical negligence by the NHS—not just Rotherham NHS, local GP practices, advocates, and regulatory bodies, but the entire system that allowed this to continue unchecked. And I won’t be the only one. There are countless others whose voices have been silenced, whose suffering has been ignored, and whose rights have been denied. This campaign is for all of us.

The bodies meant to protect patients—like PALS and ICBs—often fail to act. PALS is inefficient because it must balance investigating complaints with protecting the NHS from financial liability. The same applies to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which are more invested in shielding the system than supporting the people it harms.

Despite clear evidence in my medical records, no one has been investigated. Because more than two years have passed, I’m told my case can’t be reviewed. This is not justice.

I’ve made every complaint within the relevant timeframes. But none of them have been taken seriously. I’m at the end of the road, as far as we can see. And I know that if someone had believed me—if someone had truly listened and used their powers in Duty of Care and reported what they were seeing physically —things could have been so different. I’m not just fighting for justice. I’m fighting to be seen

Investigations should be based on evidence, not time—especially when people like me have been silenced or left without representation. When the time to complain passes because no one listened, that’s not justice—it’s manipulation.
By justifying complications as ‘expected’ because I’m disabled, the NHS avoided accountability. I wasn’t treated properly, I wasn’t represented, and I wasn’t heard. That’s why this campaign matters.

I’m not alone. Many patients have been failed by a system that prioritizes wealth over health. The NHS must be held accountable—not just for today’s mistakes, but for those of the past.

While my experience is shaped by being disabled, this campaign is not just about disability. It’s about how anyone—regardless of background—can be ignored, misrepresented, or dismissed when systems fail to investigate properly. We shouldn’t have to wait for mass scandals to get justice. Every individual matters.

This is about dignity. About truth. About making sure no one else suffers in silence. I'm fighting a wealth service, dressed up as a health service—more invested in protecting itself than healing its patients.