Decision Report 201407642

Summary

Mrs C had some metal work removed from her hip at the Southern General Hospital with the aid of an epidural anaesthetic. Afterwards, she said that she had not properly regained feeling in her right leg and that she had problems urinating. She said that she had been discharged from hospital too soon and that reasonable investigations had not been made into her symptoms.

She complained to the board but they were of the view that her discharge had been appropriate and that all reasonable investigations had been undertaken into her continuing problems. Mrs C was unhappy and complained to us.

We took independent advice from a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon. We found that on the day of her discharge, Mrs C had been reviewed by a physiotherapist and assessed as safe to go home; her condition was improving and no further interventions were planned by medical staff. Thereafter, Mrs C's complaints about her leg and urination were extensively investigated with scans, nerve conduction studies, blood tests and a lumbar puncture being carried out. She had reported that her condition was improving. In the circumstances, we did not uphold Mrs C's complaint.