Decision report 201202596

Summary

Mrs C complained about the care and treatment her husband (Mr C) received in hospital during two separate admissions. Mrs C was dissatisfied that her husband was discharged from the hospital despite being advised that he would be undergoing further tests at a second hospital while an inpatient. She was also dissatisfied with the care Mr C received during a second admission because she said there were communication problems between two doctors about arrangements for Mr C to have a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG - a surgical procedure to treat coronary heart disease) at the second hospital. Mrs C said that in response to the complaint, the board acknowledged her frustration at the length of time Mr C waited for the CABG but advised that they did not consider there had been any mismanagement by the first doctor.

Our investigation found that there was evidence to support that the first doctor provided appropriate care during Mr C's first admission and made reasonable attempts during the second admission to transfer Mr C to the second hospital with a view to having a CABG carried out. We also established that the second doctor had to ensure that Mr C was fit to undertake major cardiac surgery, because of a number of underlying health conditions. Although we did not uphold the complaint, we made a recommendation to address the issue of joined-up care between hospitals.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• review how they share information about a patient's management plan between hospitals to ensure timely care and treatment.