Overview
The complainant (Mrs C) raised a number of concerns about the care and treatment she had received for a bowel condition.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that there was failure:
- (a) by medical staff to manage adequately Mrs C's care, reach a diagnosis quickly and provide appropriate treatment (not upheld);
- (b) to keep Mrs C in a special unit for a reasonable time following her operation (not upheld);
- (c) by nursing staff to provide adequate post-operative nursing care (upheld);
- (d) to provide a clean room (not upheld); and
- (e) to discharge Mrs C from hospital within a reasonable time (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Board:
- (i) stress to clinicians the importance of ensuring, as far as possible, that patients are made aware of the reasons for clinical decisions made in relation to their care, particularly when being transferred between medical teams;
- (ii) provide evidence of the use of their Manual Handling Policy on all wards so that staff are aware of patients' handling needs and the recording of these needs and provide further evidence that staff receive the appropriate training in handling techniques;
- (iii) put in place procedures to prevent a recurrence of the delay in replacing broken handsets and, in the interim, ensure alternatives are available;
- (iv) provide evidence of the strategies in place to implement effective patient discharge planning; and
- (v) provide evidence of recent audit of nursing discharge planning on the surgical wards.
The Board have accepted the recommendations and have acted upon them accordingly.