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Case ref:201004195
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Date:October 2011
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Body:Fife NHS Board
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Sector:Health
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Outcome:Some upheld, action taken by body to remedy, no recommendations
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Subject:clinical treatment; diagnosis
Summary
Mrs C complained to the board about aspects of care and communication when her late husband, Mr C, was a patient at Queen Margaret Hospital on three occasions. Mr C had speech difficulities and although he could understand what was being said to him, he had difficulty expressing himself and Mrs C had to assist him. She was concerned about the failure of staff to listen to her concerns that she believed Mr C had contracted clostridium difficile and that he was frequently moved between wards where staff did not know where he was.
We did not uphold the complaint about a delay in diagnosing that Mr C had contracted clostridium difficile, but we upheld a complaint that communication between the staff and Mrs C was inadequate. The board had already accepted there were communication issues and had undertaken to include its importance in staff training.