NHS Forth Valley apologises in three cases after separate complaints to Ombudsman

dailyrecord.co.uk:

NHS Forth Valley has apologised over three separate cases raised with the Public Services Ombudsman, including one involving a cancer patient and another involving the treatment of a patient with Alzheimer’s.The first case lodged with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) saw a complainer (C) refer to the care and treatment provided to their late parent (A).Following a diagnosis of bladder cancer, NHS Forth Valley identified that A would require heart surgery before they would be fit enough for bladder surgery.

They referred A to another health board to provide that surgery - but this took a number of months to arrange and carry out.C told the ombudsman that, by the time the heart surgery was completed, A’s cancer had progressed to a point where treatment was no longer possible.In their decision, the SPSO said: “We found that the board failed to identify radiotherapy as a possible alternative treatment, despite this advice being given by their oncology team.

In addition, we found that the board had mishandled the referral to the other health board for heart surgery, failing to ensure that the other board were made aware of the urgency required.Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.“Then, when there were inevitable delays in surgery as a result, the board failed to identify that the window for treatment was closing.“For these reasons, we upheld C’s complaints.”In a separate case, a complainer (C) complained about the care and treatment provided to their parent (A).

A had Alzheimer’s disease and C had a full power of attorney (POA) in place that was active at the time, enabling C to make decisions about A’s welfare.The SPSO report stated: “A was admitted to Forth Valley Royal Hospital via the