Overview
The complainant (Mr C) considered that his partner (Ms A) did not receive professional care and treatment from hospital staff, and that former Argyll and Clyde NHS Board Area (the Board) failed to deal with his complaint appropriately.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are:
- (a) inadequate treatment by staff at Inverclyde Royal Hospital (the Hospital) prior to and after Ms A's day surgery on 25 May 2005 (upheld); and
- (b) the Board's failure to adequately address Mr C's complaint in their response to him (partially upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Board:
- (i) with reference to the SPSO Guidance Note on Apology, apologise to Ms A and Mr C for the distress and pain caused by the poor preparation for the procedure carried out on 25 May 2005, as well as the uncertainty over the stent before that time which led to Ms A having to be x-rayed unnecessarily; and
- (ii) ask staff at the Hosptial's Day Surgery Unit to review their practice for Endoscopy procedure preparation, and benchmark that practice against other similar units within the Board area. This would form part of the work already in progress to review pre-assessment practice for day surgery throughout the Board area.
The Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.