Decision report 201202457

Summary

When Mr and Ms C's young daughter became ill, they took her to their medical practice. She was examined by a GP, who said that she was suffering from a yeast infection and nappy rash. Later that day Mr and Ms C's daughter’s condition deteriorated and she was taken to hospital, where she was diagnosed with scarlet fever. Mr and Ms C complained to the practice that the GP did not diagnose their daughter correctly. The practice responded but Mr and Ms C felt that the response was inaccurate and did not deal with the complaint.

As part of our investigation, we took independent advice from a medical adviser. He explained that the diagnosis of scarlet fever is rare, and that there was evidence that the GP had taken appropriate steps to diagnose Mr and Mrs C's daughter's condition. Taking this into account we did not uphold the complaint.

When investigating the complaint about the practice's complaints handling, we looked at the practice's complaints procedure and response. We found that the practice had not followed their complaints process. We also found that the GP had not written detailed medical notes which meant that the practice's response was incomplete. We, therefore, upheld this complaint and made recommendations to address these failings.

Recommendations

We recommended that the practice:

• ensure that all relevant members of staff reacquaint themselves with the practice complaints procedure and ensure that they follow it; and
• ensure that the GP concerned is aware of the General Medical Council guidance on record-keeping.