Decision Report 201807384

Summary

Mrs C complained about the treatment provided to her father (Mr A) while he was a patient at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital. Mr A had been admitted for planned surgery and subsequently his health deteriorated. Mrs C said that Mr A reported problems with his leg/foot and that these were ignored by staff. Mrs C felt that Mr A should have been sent to the high dependency ward after the surgery so that he would have been better observed by staff and that his outcome would have improved. Mr A was then housebound, had limited mobility, and a poorer quality of life.

We took independent advice from a cardiothoracic consultant (doctor specialising in operations of the heart, lungs and other chest organs). We found that the planned surgery was carried out without complications and that it was appropriate to transfer Mr A back to a ward rather than a high dependency ward as there were no concerns noted. When Mr A did deteriorate, he developed respiratory failure (a condition in which the blood does not have enough oxygen or has too much carbon dioxide) which was identified by staff and he was then taken to the high dependency ward. Mr A also had other long-standing medical conditions, which were more likely to have contributed to Mr A's deterioration rather than as a result of the surgery he underwent. We did not uphold the complaint.