Decision report 201100965

Summary

Mrs A, who was elderly and disabled, was admitted to hospital. While in hospital she fell. Mrs A was seen by a doctor, who did not suspect any broken bones. Later, it was determined that she had broken her hip. Her solicitor (Mr C) complained that although her mobility problems were recorded, she was not given enough assistance. He said that as the fracture was not diagnosed at the time, Mrs A was caused additional pain.

We carefully considered all the available information provided by Mr C, Mrs A's son and the board. Our investigation found that the board failed to carry out an adequate mobility assessment when Mrs A was admitted to hospital. However, we found no evidence that she was not offered appropriate assistance. We also found that the board's care and treatment of Mrs A was satisfactory.

We upheld Mr C's complaint that the board unreasonably failed to respond when he questioned the outcome of their investigation.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• offer a sincere apology for the failing identified; and
• emphasise to staff concerned the importance of following and acting upon guidance available to them concerning the prevention of falls.