Overview
The complainant (Mrs C) raised a number of concerns against Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board (the Board) that her late father (Mr A) had been inappropriately cared for by nursing staff in Dunrod F Ravenscraig Hospital (the Hospital) from 2 February 2011 up to his death on 24 April 2011.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) nursing staff unreasonably failed to monitor and maintain Mr A's fluid levels (not upheld);
- (b) nursing staff unreasonably failed to deal with incontinence issues (not upheld);
- (c) nursing staff unreasonably failed to maintain a reasonable level of hygiene for Mr A (upheld);
- (d) there were inadequate transfer systems and documentation in place (upheld);
- (e) there was poor communication from staff (not upheld);
- (f) nursing staff unreasonably failed to pass on information to the relevant Social Work team when Mr A was transferred and this delayed the process of establishing a suitable nursing home for him to go to (not upheld);
- (g) inadequate attention was paid to Mr A's dignity by ensuring that his clothing was appropriately attended to (upheld); and
- (h) the investigation of Mrs C's complaint to the Board was inadequate (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Board:
- (i) ensure that measures are taken to feed back the learning from this to nursing staff to avoid similar situations recurring;
- (ii) provide him with an update on the actions they have taken to ensure such an incident does not recur;
- (iii) ensure that communication between family members and staff are appropriately recorded;
- (iv) ensure that measures are taken to feed back the learning from this to complaints investigation staff to avoid similar situations recurring; and
- (v) apologise to Mrs C for the failures identified in this report.
The Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.