Decision Report 201800280

Summary

Mr C attended the Western Infirmary Hospital a number of years ago when he was experiencing dizziness and migraines. Mr C was referred for an MRI scan to investigate his condition further. Several years later, Mr C was diagnosed with a schwannoma (a tumour on the nerve tissue). His original MRI scan images were reviewed and he was told that the tumour had been visible at that time.

Mr C complained that there was a failure to investigate the tumour when he first attended hospital as it had been visible in his MRI scan. We took independent advice from a consultant neuroradiologist (a radiologist who specialises in the use of radioactive substances, x-rays and scanning devices for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the nervous system). We found that in retrospect, the tumour was visible in the original MRI scan. However, as it was small and not clearly defined, we found it was reasonable that it was not identified at that time. We found that even if the tumour had been identified then, it was reasonable for it not to have been reported as it was only borderline abnormal. We also found that Mr C did not yet have any sign of a neck tumour or any symptoms relating to it. We did not uphold this aspect of the complaint.

Mr C also complained that the board failed to provide an appropriate response to his complaint. We found that their response did not accurately identify all of his concerns or provide a reasonable response to them. Therefore, we upheld this aspect of the complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to Mr C for not accurately identifying and providing an appropriate response to all aspects of his complaint. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at: www.spso.org.uk/leaflets-and-guidance.

In relation to complaints handling, we recommended:

• Complaints responses should accurately identify and provide a reasonable response to all the issues of concern.