Decision report 201202444

Summary

Mr C complained that an optometrist used incorrect optical notes when undertaking his consultation and did not realise his mistake until Mr C pointed it out to him. The optometrist explained that he picks up the optical records for the next patient in the queue before entering the waiting room and calling their name. He said he followed the standard process on this occasion. He explained that it became clear during the consultation that Mr C's optical history and examination results did not correspond with the optical records he held. He then checked the name and established from Mr C that he was not the patient called. He explained that he called for a different patient in the waiting room but Mr C came forward.

Our investigation found that Mr C suffered no ill effects from this consultation. In addition, there were no witnesses to the consultation itself and we did not consider it proportionate to try and trace other patients who were in the waiting room and who may have witnessed the optometrist calling for the appointment. As we could not reasonably obtain sufficient evidence to allow us to reach a clear conclusion on what happened that day, we did not uphold Mr C's complaint.