Decision report 201103742

Summary

Ms C complained about the care and treatment she received from a hospital. She outlined eight specific areas of concern, including communication, standard of care, waiting times, lack of after care and competence of staff. She said that she initially went to the hospital with symptoms of bowel disease, but her worsening symptoms suggested a gynaecological problem. She said that after that she experienced other health issues. She underwent an operation and was referred for treatment to another health board. Ms C’s complaint to us also included other issues of concern including misdiagnosis, inappropriate administration of medication and poor complaints handling.

Our medical adviser considered all aspects of Ms C’s complaints and said that she displayed complex symptoms and had had a thorough investigation of her gastro-intestinal tract. She had an ovarian cyst (a sac filled with fluid that forms on or inside an ovary) removed promptly and an area of endometriosis (small pieces of womb lining found outside of the womb) destroyed. We found that medication was appropriately used, communication was effective and Ms C received timely inpatient attention and after care. Having taken account of all the evidence and the advice received, we considered that the board appropriately addressed and responded to all Ms C’s complaints. Although we did not uphold her complaints, we found some delay in advising Ms C's GP of a test result.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• apologise for the delay in sending the results of the echocardiogram test to the GP; and
• take steps to ensure such a delay does not recurr.