Decision Report 201405422

Summary

Mrs C brought a complaint to us on behalf of her late husband (Mr C), in relation to the care and treatment he received over a five week period shortly before his death. She was concerned that the medical practice had not acted with enough urgency when she felt Mr C's condition was deteriorating. He had three consultations with a GP over a four week period. At the final consultation the GP had concerns about his breathing and referred him for an x-ray, which took place the next day. The results of the x-ray indicated that Mr C had pleural effusion (a build-up of excess fluid around the lungs). The results arrived in the practice the following day, and the GP referred Mr C back to hospital when he viewed the results on his return to work the day after. Mr C was treated in hospital, and was discharged home, to await further treatment. He died before this further treatment could take place.

We sought independent advice from a GP adviser. The adviser reviewed all three consultations, and was satisfied that the GP had taken appropriate action, on the basis of the symptoms which Mr C presented with. They noted that there was no indication of pleural effusion until the third consultation.

The adviser also reviewed the practice's response to the x-ray results, and noted that the results did not indicate a need for urgent action. They considered the practice's response to the x-ray results to have been reasonable.

We noted concerns that Mrs C had raised which were beyond the scope of this investigation, in relation to conversations which could not be corroborated. We noted the adviser's comments in relation to the GP's actions, and we did not uphold Mrs C's complaint.