Overview
The complainant (Miss C) raised a number of concerns about the care and treatment that her late father (Mr A) had received before his death.
Specific complaint and conclusion
The complaint which has been investigated is that Grampian NHS Board (the Board) did not provide reasonable care and treatment to Mr A in relation to a referral from his GP for hoarseness (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Board:
- (i) ensure that all clinical staff are aware that persistent hoarseness should be taken to be a symptom of cancer of the larynx unless proved otherwise;
- (ii) ensure that such cases are dealt with urgently;
- (iii) ensure that endoscopies undertaken to exclude cancer have the direct involvement of a senior trained practitioner;
- (iv) ensure that any junior staff involved in such procedures are adequately trained and supervised and that this is recorded;
- (v) review the way in which the laryngoscopy performed on Mr A in 2005 was carried out to establish if there are any lessons that can be learned and whether further guidelines in relation to such procedures are required;
- (vi)consider further investigation where a laryngoscopy shows no evidence of malignancy, but the patient continues to display laryngeal symptoms; and
- (vii) apologise to Miss C for the failings identified in this report.
The Board have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.