Decision Report 201609784

Summary

Mr C complained about the care and treatment he received when he attended at the board's out-of-hours service at the New Victoria Hospital. Mr C had been suffering from abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and fever. He saw a GP on his first attendance and although Mr C had suggested he might have appendicitis, the GP dismissed this and felt it was viral gastroenteritis. Mr C was sent home after having an injection for the nausea. The pain continued and Mr C re-attended the out-of-hours service three days later and saw another GP. The GP thought Mr C was suffering from trapped wind and gave a further injection and told Mr C to return home. He did so but returned to the same GP two hours later as the pain had not settled and he was then referred to hospital for a specialist opinion. The hospital then diagnosed that Mr C had appendicitis where he was required to undergo emergency surgery. Mr C felt that the GPs at the out-of-hours service had failed to take his concerns seriously and that he should have been referred for a specialist hospital opinion sooner.

After taking independent medical advice, we did not uphold Mr C's complaint. The advice we received was that the examinations carried out by both GPs were reasonable with appropriate advice and treatment being provided on the basis of the findings. The adviser explained that Mr C had not shown any of the classical signs of appendicitis at the time of the first two examinations and that it was appropriate to refer him to the hospital specialists on the third attendance as his clinical condition had worsened.