Decision Report 202008029

Summary

C is an advocate who complains on behalf of A. A has a brain injury which impacts on their daily living tasks and functioning. C complained that A received poor treatment from their GP practice and that there were delays in making referrals for specialist input following a fall down stairs which made A’s existing health conditions worse.

We took independent advice from a GP adviser. We found that A's treatment had been reasonable. We noted that A had come to the practice with a number of previous unresolved problems. We considered that A's new GPs were right to be mindful that A's neurological symptoms had already been assessed as 'functional', meaning they had no known physical cause.

C also complained about repeated prescription of antibiotics. We found that this did not seem excessive given the poor general state of A's health and that referrals for specialist input had been appropriate. Therefore, we did not uphold C's complaints.