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Case ref:201101619
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Date:March 2012
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Body:Western Isles NHS Board
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Sector:Health
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Outcome:Not upheld, no recommendations
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Subject:admission, discharge and transfer procedures
Summary
Mrs C, who was the manager of a care home, complained to the board about the way one of her residents (Mrs A) was discharged from hospital back to the care home. Mrs C felt that it was inappropriate to have discharged Mrs A as she was in an unkempt state, was agitated; had struggled with ambulance staff; and that Mrs A's safety, along with that of care home staff, was at risk.
When Mrs C tried to have the hospital re-admit Mrs A, she was told the bed was no longer available. Mrs C also complained that the board's investigation of her complaint had not included seeking comments from clinical staff who had attended Mrs A following her discharge.
We established that Mrs A had been admitted to the hospital for an assessment and that when this had been completed then there was no clinical reason for her to remain in hospital. We did establish that there had been a communication issue between hospital staff in that initially Mrs A's hospital bed was to have been kept available for a time should she not settle back into the care home. However, from a clinical perspective it had been appropriate to discharge Mrs A from hospital.
We also found that the board's investigation of the complaint was reasonable and it was for them to decide who should be contacted to provide comments as part of their investigation.