Decision Report 201403876

Summary

Ms C attended A&E at Borders General Hospital in September 2013 with a painful knee following a fall. She was treated conservatively (a non-surgical approach) and underwent physiotherapy. Ms C fell a further two times and in April 2014, she was referred to a hospital in another board area for specialist advice. The specialist there diagnosed her with an injury to one of her ligaments and performed reconstructive surgery.

Ms C complained that healthcare professionals failed unreasonably to diagnose her condition until she was referred to the specialist. She said this meant she did not receive appropriate treatment within a reasonable time and that corrective surgery should have been undertaken a year earlier. As a result of the board's failures, she told us she had periods of immobility, and financial and social difficulties, all of which had a negative emotional impact on her.

After taking independent advice from our medical adviser, we found that the clinical picture was complex and, in the circumstances, the initial assessment was reasonable. We also found that it was reasonable to manage the injury conservatively and that she was referred to a specialist within a reasonable time.