Overview
The complainant's (Mrs C) father (Mr A) died on 28 December 2004 following treatment in Gartnavel General Hospital (the Hospital). She was concerned that there was an unreasonable delay in diagnosing his cancer and that he was not provided with adequate treatment on admission to the Hospital. Mrs C also felt that there were unreasonable delays in the handling of her complaint by Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board (the Board).
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) there was an unreasonable delay in diagnosing Mr A's cancer (not upheld);
- (b) during MrA's admission to the Hospital in November and December 2004, he was not provided with adequate treatment; in particular, there was a delay before any attempt was made to arrange a stent and radiotherapy (upheld);
- (c) Mr A had an unnecessary second bronchoscopy (upheld); and
- (d) there were undue delays in the handling of the complaint by the Board (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Board, reflecting on this case:
- (i) review their guidelines to ensure that in cases similar to this one, staff understand the need for the appropriate multi-disciplinary team to meet at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss all options for investigation, treatment or non treatment. She also recommends that options are discussed in detail with patients and/or with their family in such circumstances;
- (ii) review the circumstances in which it may be appropriate to provide palliative treatment prior to firm diagnosis, and that they include their findings in revised clinical guidelines for staff. The Ombudsman asks that the Board inform her of the outcome of this review and the actions taken; and
- (iii) review their methods of obtaining information from internal sources with a view to ensuring that there are no resultant avoidable delays in responding to complaints.
The Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.