Overview
The complainant (Mr C) complained about the transport arrangements for his wife (Mrs C) after her feeding tube blocked and she required hospital treatment to unblock it. He also complained about the care and treatment she received at Gilbert Bain Hospital, Shetland (Hospital 1).
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) there was a delay in the arrival of the ambulance and when it arrived it could not take Mrs C in a powered wheelchair (upheld to the extent that the ambulance could have been dispatched more quickly and the delay avoided had the crew been advised when the request for the ambulance arrived);
- (b) no arrangements were made to take Mrs C home after her attendance at Accident and Emergency at Hospital 1 (upheld);
- (c) Mrs C had no nutrition or fluids for 20 hours (upheld);
- (d) Mrs C was sent to the wrong address in a taxi (upheld); and
- (e) the initial travel arrangements made for Mrs C to attend a hospital outwith the Shetland NHS Board area were unreasonable (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Scottish Ambulance Service:
- (i) apologise to Mr C for the failings identified in this paragraphs 5 to 12 of this report; and
- (ii) demonstrate that, through providing more tailored options for requesting physicians, the response and appropriateness of that response has improved.
The Ombudsman recommends that Shetland NHS Board:
- (iii) apologise to Mr C for the failings identified in paragraphs 18 to 29 of this report;
- (iv) send him a copy of the results of the audit of record keeping in the Accident and Emergency department and any action taken to improve practice; and
- (v) audit the Patient Travel Service to ensure that they are now requesting sufficient information to allow them to make appropriate arrangements for all patients in the Board area who require to travel.
Both the Scottish Ambulance Service and Shetland NHS Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.