Overview
The complainant, Ms C, raised a number of concerns about the delay in obtaining an appointment at Neurosurgery Out-Patient Services at the Southern General Hospital (Hospital 1). This was arranged by Highland NHS Board (the Board) as part of Ms C's ongoing treatment for back pain.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) the Orthopaedic Consultant Service contracted from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde failed to refer Ms C to the Neurosurgeon within Hospital 1 in September 2005 (upheld); and
- (b) the complaint response from the Board did not address the complaint that was raised (partially upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Board:
- (i) review the current pilot in progress and let her know the outcome;
- (ii) consider introducing a system to ensure that a referral has been received by the receiving clinic;
- (iii) provide a local contact for a patient to be able to enquire about their referral;
- (iv) apologise to Ms C for the additional wait experienced as a result of the delay in treatment;
- (v) ensure they have a mechanism in place to follow up on any outstanding issues when an offer of a meeting, as part of local resolution in line with the NHS complaints procedure, has been made and declined;
- (vi) ensure, where appropriate, that they consider if there are any problems which may be faced by a complainant offered a meeting to discuss a complaint and the venue for the meeting is not local to the complainant; and
- (vii) apologise to Ms C for not providing a further response to her complaint.
The Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.