Decision Report 201601872

Summary

Ms C, a GP, complained on behalf of her patient (Mrs B) about the care and treatment received by Mrs B's husband (Mr A) whilst he was in Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Ms C complained that the board did not provide Mr A with a reasonable standard of medical treatment, that they did not provide a reasonable standard of nursing care, and that the board failed to communicate with Mr A's family about his condition and prognosis and provide a palliative care plan.

We took independent advice from a consultant physician and a nursing adviser. We found that whilst many aspects of Mr A's medical treatment had been reasonable, the palliative care team should have been involved in his care earlier, and that there was a lack of discharge planning. We upheld this aspect of Ms C's complaint.

We found that the nursing care provided to Mr A was of a reasonable standard and did not uphold this aspect of Ms C's complaint. However, in relation to the communication of Mr A's prognosis and condition, we found that the board did not check to ensure that Mr A's family understood his prognosis, and that a DNACPR form (do not attempt resuscitation form) and DS1500 form (an end of life benefits form) should have been completed as this may have helped the family have a better understanding of Mr A's condition. The board had accepted that the standard of communication with Mr A's family was not reasonable. We upheld this aspect of Ms C's complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• report to us on the action taken to review discharge planning;
• take action to ensure that, in similar cases, the palliative care team are involved at the appropriate time; and
• feed back to staff the adviser's comments in relation to completion of a DNACPR form and DS1500 form.