Overview
The complainant (Mr C) raised a complaint about a delay in a referral for a urodynamics study at the Department of Urology (the Department) in the Southern General Hospital (the Hospital). Mr C had not received an appointment after he had cancelled three previous opportunities to attend the Department. Mr C complained that he had been told his name had been taken off the waiting list at his request. Additionally, Mr C was unhappy that the complaint response from the Chief Executive of the then South Glasgow University Hospitals Division, wrongly referred to his original out-patient referral as having come from his General Practitioner (GP), rather than the Gastrointestinal Clinic at the Hospital.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) Mr C had an excessive wait for an appointment at the Department (upheld);
- (b) Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board (the Board) had wrongly stated that Mr C's GP had referred him to the Department (upheld); and
- (c) Mr C was removed from the waiting list although he had not asked for this (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that:
- (i) the Board apologise to Mr C for their error in saying the referral was from Mr C's GP;
- (ii) staff members are reminded of the importance of keeping accurate and contemporaneous records to verify their understanding of all patient information; and
- (iii) the Department staff are reminded of the value of alerting patients' GPs to the changes in the clinical care of patients on their practice list.
The Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.