Lanarkshire NHS Board

Overview

The complainant (Mr C) raised a number of concerns about the treatment which he had received from clinicians for a finger injury following an assault on 10 June 2007. Mr C said that a consultant orthopaedic surgeon had failed to amputate a sufficient amount of the damaged finger and that this had hampered his ability to continue with his employment as an electrician. In addition, Mr C complained that another consultant orthopaedic surgeon had agreed to further amputate the finger if alternative therapy did not work but then subsequently denied that he had promised this.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints which have been investigated are that:

• (a) the clinicians failed to obtain informed consent prior to surgery (upheld);
• (b) the decision not to provide the level of amputation requested by Mr C was unreasonable (not upheld); and
• (c) the overall treatment provided by the clinicians was inadequate (not upheld).

Redress and recommendations

The Ombudsman recommends that Lanarkshire NHS Board (the Board):

• (i) apologise to Mr C for not obtaining informed consent; and
• (ii) consider whether procedures require to be amended, so that the surgeon is available at the pre-assessment clinic to discuss the level of amputation which is planned and to take consent.

The Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly