Decision Report 201205286

Summary

Mrs C had her gall bladder removed by laparascopic (keyhole) surgery. She complained that although she felt ill and breathless the board had insisted on discharging her, as she had only been admitted for day surgery. Mrs C also complained that when she was then re-admitted as an emergency, this was under the care of the respiratory medicine department rather than the consultant who had carried out the operation. Mrs C continued to have medical issues, which she blamed on the surgery, and about which she spoke to the consultant the month after her operation. Although she felt he was rude and abrupt, she said he agreed to see her in his clinic. However, despite a letter from her GP, she did not receive a letter until three months later, for an appointment the following month. Mrs C also said that the board’s response to her complaint was inaccurate and did not answer all the points she had raised.

After taking independent advice on this case from three medical advisers, we upheld only one of Mrs C's complaints. After considering her medical records, the advice we received was that the decision to discharge Mrs C after surgery was appropriate, as was the decision to readmit her under the care of the respiratory medicine department. However, it was not reasonable that Mrs C was not seen for over three months by the operating consultant, given that she had discussed her problems with him personally. We found that although the complaint response was delayed and contained some typographical errors, it had appropriately addressed all the points Mrs C raised.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• apologise for the failings identified in Mrs C's care; and
• review their procedures to ensure that following laparascopic surgery, patients are followed up appropriately.