Decision Report 201903798

Summary

Mr C complained about the treatment which he received at the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department at Queen Margaret Hospital. He had been referred by his GP for further investigation of hearing loss. Mr C said that he also had discharge from his ears. He said that the consultant had told him to leave his ears alone as they were fine and did not prescribe any drops or medication. Mr C then attended his GP later that day and a swab was taken and he was prescribed capsules and cream until the results were known. The swab result confirmed an infection and antibiotics were prescribed. Mr C felt that the consultant had dismissed his concerns about the discharge from his ears.

We took independent advice from an ENT consultant. We found that the consultant in the ENT Department had carried out an appropriate examination to establish the cause of Mr C's hearing loss. It was also not unreasonable that the consultant had determined Mr C had caused trauma to his ear canals by using cotton buds and gave advice to stop using them and to wait to see if the inflammation settled in due course. At that time it was not appropriate to issue antibiotics. We did not uphold the complaint.