Decision Report 201809722

Summary

Mrs C complained to us about the care provided to her late husband (Mr A) by the practice prior to him suffering a fatal heart attack. In particular, Mr A had reported chest pains three times over a three month period to his GP. The GP had felt the problems were related to a stomach problem, prescribed Gaviscon (medication for heartburn or indigestion) to Mr A and said they had ruled out a cardiac cause for the chest pain.

We took independent advice from a GP. We found that at the initial consultation it was reasonable that the GP had considered that Mr A's long standing stomach problem was responsible for his reported chest pain, and it was appropriate to prescribe medication. There was a question as to whether Mr A was taking the prescribed medication, which may have resolved the stomach problem, and that it was reasonable to pursue that line of enquiry in an effort to resolve the situation. We found that the GP had carried out an appropriate examination and did not uphold the complaint. We also noted that there was no evidence to suggest that had an earlier diagnosis been made, it would have prevented Mr A's sudden death.