Decision Report 201600725

Summary

Miss C complained about the care and treatment she received at St John's Hospital. She had been diagnosed with skin cancer and had an operation in the hospital to remove the cancer. She said that, after the operation, the anaesthetist refused to give her further pain relief without having seen her when she asked for this.

We took independent advice from an anaesthetist. We found that Miss C had been seen by the anaesthetist when she requested additional pain relief and that their decision that she had already received appropriate and adequate pain relief was reasonable. We did not uphold this complaint.

Miss C also complained that there was an unreasonable delay by nurses in providing her with pain relief she had requested later that day. We found that there had been an unreasonable delay in providing the pain relief and upheld the complaint. However, we were satisfied that the board had apologised for this and had taken action to prevent such delays occurring in the future.

Miss C also complained that the surgeons had not discussed her concerns with her at an appointment, as the board's response to her complaint said they would. We found that the board had written to Miss C to say that they had shared her concerns with the surgeons and they would discuss the matter at her next appointment. However, Miss C's concerns were not discussed at the appointment, as they had not been shared with the surgeons. We also upheld this aspect of Miss C's complaint. However, we were satisfied that the board had apologised to Miss C for this and had offered to arrange a further meeting.

Finally, Miss C complained about the board's handling of her complaint. We also upheld this complaint, as we found that there had been an unreasonable delay in responding, although the board had apologised for this and had provided us with evidence that they had taken action to prevent such delays in the future.