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Case ref:201902664
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Date:March 2020
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Body:Lothian NHS Board - Acute Division
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Sector:Health
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Outcome:Not upheld, no recommendations
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Subject:clinical treatment / diagnosis
Summary
Mr C complained about the treatment he received at St John's Hospital. He said that his GP had been treating him for a suspected urinary tract infection and referred him to hospital. Initially staff felt that he had a viral infection, but subsequent investigations found that he had a prostatic abscess (accumulation of pus within the prostate gland) and had also developed staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (a bacterial infection). Mr C felt that there had been an undue delay in reaching an accurate diagnosis.
We took independent professional advice from a consultant physician. We found that staff had performed a number of investigations to establish the cause of Mr C's symptoms and that it was not initially unreasonable to have diagnosed him as suffering from a viral illness. His temperature fluctuated and appropriate antibiotics were administered at an early stage. The staff also arranged further appropriate investigations in case there was a danger of Mr C losing his sight or requiring heart surgery. We did not uphold the complaint.