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Case ref:201801303
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Date:November 2020
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Body:Borders NHS Board
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Sector:Health
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Outcome:Some upheld, recommendations
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Subject:clinical treatment / diagnosis
Summary
Ms C complained about the care and treatment provided to her by the board in relation to rheumatology (the branch of medicine that deals with rheumatism, arthritis, and other disorders of the joints, muscles, and ligaments), radiology (medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose and treat diseases), and respiratory (the branch of medicine that deals with conditions affecting the lungs) care and treatment.
We took independent advice from a rheumatologist, a radiologist, and a respiratory physician. We found generally that the care and treatment provided to Ms C was reasonable. However, we identified that there was a scan which had been reported inaccurately, and this was unreasonable in that it missed acute inflammation. Therefore, we upheld Ms C's complaint about radiology but did not uphold her complaints in relation to her rheumatology and respiratory care and treatment.
Ms C also complained about the board's handling of her complaint. We found that there was an inaccuracy in the complaint response and upheld her complaint on this basis.
Recommendations
What we asked the organisation to do in this case:
- Apologise to Ms C for her scan being reported inaccurately and the response to her complaint being inaccurate. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at www.spso.org.uk/information-leaflets.
What we said should change to put things right in future:
- Scans should be reported to a reasonable standard.
In relation to complaints handling, we recommended:
- Complaint responses should be accurate.
We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.