Investigation Report 200502049 200502361 200502362

  • Report no:
    200502049 200502361 200502362
  • Date:
    July 2007
  • Body:
    NHS 24, Scottish Ambulance Service and Tayside NHS Board
  • Sector:
    Health

Overview

The complainant (Mr C) raised a number of concerns regarding the delay in diagnosing his sister's stroke and admitting her to hospital.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints which have been investigated are that:

  • (a) NHS 24 failed to make a correct diagnosis despite evidence to indicate that Mrs D had suffered a stroke (not upheld);
  • (b) NHS 24 failed to give this case a high priority (not upheld);
  • (c) NHS 24 incorrectly called for an out-of-hours GP rather than an ambulance (not upheld);
  • (d) the GP failed to stay with the patient whilst waiting for the ambulance (upheld);
  • (e) the GP failed to give the case a high priority (upheld);
  • (f) the GP failed to provide a referral note to the hospital (not upheld); and
  • (g) the ambulance took an unreasonable time to attend (upheld).

Redress and recommendations

The Ombudsman recommends that the Board:

  • (i) reflect on what lessons can be learned from this case;
  • (ii) consider how to communicate these lessons to Practitioners; and
  • (iii) advise her of their conclusions.

The Ombudsman recommends that the Service:

  • (iv) issue a further apology to Mr C and his nephew Mr D in respect of the additional delays in responding to the call from the GP;
  • (v) issue an apology for the incorrect information detailed in their earlier response to the complaint; and
  • (vi) consider reviewing their procedures for adhering to timescales for attendance at incidents, particularly with a view to ensuring that the correct information is provided to callers.

The Board and the Service have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.

Updated: December 11, 2018