Decision Report 201403426

Summary

Mr C had concerns that, when his late mother-in-law (Mrs A) was discharged from hospital to a nursing home, staff failed to inform the family about the existence of the NHS continuing healthcare procedure and that as a result there were financial implications for Mrs A. The board maintained that Mrs A's medical records contained details about communication with Mrs A's family about her discharge from hospital and that the family were satisfied that placement in a nursing home was appropriate. We upheld the complaint as we found that, although the records showed that there were frequent discussions with Mrs A's family about the plans for her discharge, there was no specific mention of the NHS continuing healthcare procedure.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• issue a written apology to Mr C for the failure to advise the family that there was an appeals procedure where there is a disagreement about the decision to provide NHS continuing healthcare;
• issue a written apology to Mr C for the failure to specifically record at discharge that consideration had been given to NHS continuing healthcare; and
• remind staff of the requirement to communicate with patients and carers about the procedure for NHS continuing healthcare and ensure that decisions are recorded in the medical records.