Mrs C’s son Stewart was born on 28 January 1980 at the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, Edinburgh. He had a condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebro-spinal-fluid within cavities inside the brain and was transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh where he was under the care of a Consultant Paediatrician. Stewart died on 6 February 1980. During 2000 and 2001 there was extensive publicity about organ retention. As a result Mrs C became anxious that organs might have been retained following Stewart’s death. She made enquiries of the Trust but remained unhappy about their responses
Health
The complainant (Mr C) received treatment and regular check-ups from his Dentist (Dentist 1) over a four year period from the end of 1996 until March 2001. He returned to the Dental Practice in November 2001 and was told by a different Dentist that he had bad gum disease. Mr C was shocked by this as he said Dentist 1 never told him that he had a problem with gum disease. Mr C complained via the local Primary Care NHS Trust but he was dissatisfied with the response. An Independent Review Panel considered his complaint and concluded that he had experienced an acute episode of his periodontal condition (gum disease) towards the end of 2001 which caused a rapid deterioration of his oral condition. The Panel also concluded that this could not be attributed to any lack of care provided by Dentist 1.
The complaint provided by Mr C was that in November 2000 his mother, Mrs C, had a blood test arranged by GP 1 which indicated a slight abnormality in her kidney function. She had a history of hypertension and leg oedema. No monitoring or follow up tests were arranged. Mrs C did not see a GP again until 17 July 2002 when a home visit from GP 2 was arranged. A blood sample was taken and the results showned an abnormality. On GP 2's advice, Mrs C stopped taking her medication and further blood tests were aranged. On 23 July another home visit was requested. Another GP (GP 3) attended and arranged an emergency admission to hospital for Mrs C. She died in hospital later that day.
Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust
Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
This complaint concerned the removal of a patient from the GPs' list. The complainant was of the view that the GPs concerned acted unreasonably in removing him from the Practice's list of patients.
The account of the complaint provided by Mrs G was that in February 2001 her son was put on the waiting list for orthodontic treatment. Mrs G subsequently learned that the waiting time for this treatment is approximately three and a half years. Mrs G complained about the waiting time; she asked for an explanation or remedy for the situation. The Chief Executive of the Trust replied apologising for the lengthy waiting time and acknowledged that this was unsatisfactory. Mrs G sought an independent review of her complaint. The Convener refused her request on the ground that this was primarily a resource issue for which a reasonable explanation had been given.
The complainants, Mr and Mrs E, felt they had been removed from their GPs' list with insufficient justification after Mr E had complained to the practice manager about the treatment Mrs E had received from the reception staff.
The complainant, Mr J, put it that the Trust took an unreasonable length of time to diagnose his wife's bowel cancer resulting in her death.