Wednesday 21 October: Complaint form offline

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Decision Report 201702824

  • Case ref:
    201702824
  • Date:
    April 2018
  • Body:
    Western Isles NHS Board
  • Sector:
    Health
  • Outcome:
    Upheld, recommendations
  • Subject:
    policy / administration

Summary

Mr C complained that he had been refused a patient escort to his hospital appointment. Mr C lives far away from the hospital and said that he could not travel on his own due to his health conditions. The board said that Mr C did not meet the criteria for a patient escort.

We took independent advice from a nurse. They said that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the board had reasonably assessed Mr C's health conditions and their impact on his ability to travel. We considered that it was not clear why Mr C did not meet the criteria and what, potentially, would be sufficient to meet the criteria. Therefore, we upheld Mr C's complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

  • Provide Mr C with a full rationale for the decision not to allow him a patient escort.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Related reading

Updated: December 2, 2018