Overview
The complainant (Mrs C) raised a number of concerns about the care her late brother (Mr A) received in the days before he died.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) Mrs C was not kept properly informed about Mr A's condition (upheld);
- (b) Mr A's condition was not adequately monitored on the night he died (not upheld);
- (c) the way Mr A's death was communicated to the family was inappropriate (not upheld);
- (d) a member of the nursing staff was rude to the family (upheld); and
- (e) some of Mr A's personal belongings were lost during his stay in hospital (not upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board (the Board):
- (i) apologise to Mrs C for shortcomings in communications about Mr A's condition;
- (ii) take further action to ensure that a proactive approach is taken to establishing good communication with relatives;
- (iii) use this complaint as a case study to illustrate the importance of good communication with relatives, especially when the hospital are aware that the patient is unlikely to survive; and
- (iv) apologise to Mrs C formally for the conduct of a member of nursing staff and also give consideration to providing to staff dealing with patients and their families a more focussed reinforcement of the importance of good customer care through, for example, appropriate training.
The Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.