Health

Overview

The complainant (Mrs C) raised a number of issues regarding an assessment carried out by a Community Psychiatric Nurse.  Mrs C also raised issues over the subsequent investigation of her complaint by Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints which have been investigated are:

• (a) length of time taken of initial assessment (not upheld);
• (b) the adequacy of assessment (not upheld); and
• (c) the adequacy of investigation into complaint (not upheld).

Redress and recommendation

The Ombudsman has no recommendations to make.

Overview

The complainant (Mrs C) raised a number of concerns that her husband (Mr C) had been inadequately cared for during a stay in Hairmyres Hospital (the Hospital); that the Hospital was not clean; that the out-of-hours Doctor failed to call an ambulance; that her husband was not taken to the nearest treatment centre; and that the subsequent handling of her complaint was inadequate.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints which have been investigated are that:

• (a) the out-of-hours Doctor failed to call an ambulance for Mr C (upheld);
• (b) Mr C was inappropriately taken to a hospital that was not the nearest for treatment and was not transferred there subsequently (not upheld);
• (c) the care given to Mr C in Accident and Emergency at the Hospital was not as outlined in Lanarkshire NHS Board (the Board)'s response to Mrs C (not upheld);
• (d) the cleanliness of the Hospital was not of a good standard (not upheld);
• (e) Mr C was not assisted with feeding at mealtimes in the Hospital (not upheld);
• (f) Mr C's regular medication was not administered correctly while in the Hospital (not upheld);
• (g) the appropriate action was not taken following the diagnosis of Staphylococcus aureus (partially upheld); and
• (h) the response of the Board to Mrs C's complaints was not adequate (not upheld).

Redress and recommendations

The Ombudsman recommends that the Board:

• (i) introduce a policy regarding ambulance contact by out-of-hours Doctors; and
• (ii) apologise to Mr and Mrs C for failing to adequately communicate the findings of a swab of Mr C's elbow.

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

Overview

The complainant raised a number of concerns about the care she received from psychiatric services in Aberdeen and Elgin.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints from Ms C which have been investigated are that:

• (a) her condition was originally misdiagnosed in 1999 and continues to be so (not upheld);
• (b) she received incorrect medication which has worsened her condition (not upheld); and
• (c) the clinical judgement exercised by those involved was questionable as no regard was placed on her evolving medical history (not upheld).

Redress and Recommendation

The Ombudsman has no recommendations to make.

Overview

The complainant (Ms C) raised a number of issues concerning the treatment her father (Mr A) received prior to and following an operation.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints which have been investigated are:

• (a) that staff failed to fully establish Mr A's current medical condition prior to surgery (partially upheld); and
• (b) inappropriate discharge (not upheld).

Redress and recommendation

The Ombudsman recommends that the Board remind staff of the importance of recording appropriate information.

The Board have accepted the recommendation made in this report.

Overview

The complainant raised a concern about the care she received at her dental practice while having a dental impression taken.

Specific complaint and conclusion

The complaint which has been investigated is about failure to provide appropriate care when taking a dental impression (not upheld).

Redress and recommendation

The Ombudsman has no recommendations to make.

Overview

The complaint concerned the actions of two district nurses at a home visit.  The complaint was that the nurses failed to adequately assess the patient or arrange for a hospital admission.

Specific complaint and conclusion

The complaint which has been investigated is that there was failure to adequately assess Mrs C’s medical condition or admit her to hospital (upheld).

Redress and recommendation

The Ombudsman recommends that the Division ensures that the two district nurses receive training in the appropriate actions to be taken in such cases and in the importance of record keeping as identified by the Adviser.  Such record keeping is not only important in itself but is crucial to the delivery of appropriate care.  They should be given the opportunity to reflect on the lessons to be learned from this case with a clinical supervisor and specifically to consider when to seek medical advice in the future.

The Division have accepted the recommendation in full.

Overview

The complaint concerned the actions of a GP at a home visit.  The complaint was that the GP failed to carry out an adequate examination of the patient or arrange for her to be admitted to hospital.

Specific complaint and conclusion

The complaint which has been investigated is about the failure of GP 1 to carry out an appropriate examination or admit Mrs C to hospital (no finding).

Redress and recommendation

The Ombudsman has no recommendation to make.

Overview

The complainant (Ms C) raised a number of concerns regarding the treatment and care her late father (Mr A) received at the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints which have been investigated are that:

• (a) inadequate supervision led to Mr A suffering a fall (not upheld);
• (b) inappropriate action was taken following an infection outbreak (not upheld); and
• (c) there was inadequate analgesia (not upheld).

Redress and recommendation

The Ombudsman has no recommendations to make.

The complainant (Mr C) complained that his GP failed to diagnose and treat him appropriately.

Overview

The complainant raised a number of issues regarding his treatment during and following a hospital admission.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints which have been investigated are that:

• (a)  staff administered injections without the complainant's permission (not upheld); and
• (b)  staff failed to provide Mr C with home oxygen (not upheld).

Redress and recommendations

The Ombudsman has no recommendations to make.