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Case ref:201806888
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Date:September 2020
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Body:Lothian NHS Board - Acute Division
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Sector:Health
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Outcome:Some upheld, recommendations
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Subject:appointments / admissions (delay / cancellation / waiting lists)
Summary
Mr C complained that he was unreasonably removed from the boards waiting list when he did not attend an appointment. We took independent advice from a dental adviser. We found that it was reasonable to remove Mr C from the waiting list without offering him another appointment in the clinical circumstances. We did not uphold this aspect of Mr C's complaint.
Mr C also complained that the board did not communicate reasonably with him. We found that the board's letter to Mr C did not inform him that, if he contacted the service within four weeks, he may be offered another appointment. This was contrary to the NHS Lothian Standard Operating Procedures for Waiting Times Management. We also found that there was no written record of Mr C's call to the board. We upheld this aspect of Mr C's complaint.
Lastly, Mr C complained about the way the board handled his complaint. We did not find evidence that the board had handled Mr C's complaint unreasonably. Therefore, we did not uphold this aspect of Mr C's complaint.
Recommendations
What we asked the organisation to do in this case:
- Apologise to Mr C for failing to inform him that if he contacted the service within four weeks he may have been offered another appointment and for failing to record Mr C's call to the board. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at www.spso.org.uk/information-leaflets.
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.