Overview
The complainant (Miss C) complained that Lothian NHS Board (the Board) failed to provide the necessary out-of-hours care to her fiancé (referred to in this report as Mr A) on the night of the 26 and 27 April 2004, contributing to his death from acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis on 27 April 2004.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) GP 2 failed to make an appropriate differential diagnosis of Mr A's medical condition (not upheld);
- (b) the telephone receptionist failed to record and pass on all the symptoms described to him by Miss C (upheld);
- (c) GP 3 failed to take a comprehensive medical history (upheld);
- (d) GP 3 failed to give appropriate advice about paracetamol (not upheld); and
- (e) the out-of-hours service failed to respond appropriately to Miss C's complaint (upheld).
Redress and recommendation
The Ombudsman recommends that the Board:
- (i) use the events of this complaint as part of future training for out-of-hours staff to reiterate the importance of good communication skills; and
- (ii) (as the successor organisation) apologise to Miss C for the failure to properly handle her complaint in accordance with the regulations.
The Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.