In this month’s edition of the Ombudsman’s findings, we discuss primary care
This month we published decision reports from ten complaints investigated by the Ombudsman. All ten were about health services. The outcome of these ten complaints were
- Fully upheld: 5
- Some upheld: 3
- Not upheld: 2
We made 27 recommendations for learning and improvement.
The Ombudsman has also published one investigation report about a patient who did not receive appropriate wound care and treatment. We are recommending that the board review their wound management guidance and ensure that staff have received the relevant training.
Primary care
Several of our cases this month relate to primary care services.
In one case, we found that a GP practice failed to record a clear description of a lesion on a patient’s back. Records should contain all relevant information to enable subsequent reviewers identify whether the lesion has undergone any significant change, and what that change is.
We asked the GP practice to apologise and ensure that medical records contain all relevant information.
In another case, we found that a dentist unreasonably deviated from established practice and guidance when treating a child’s tooth. Dentists should follow the appropriate guidance unless there is a specific reason to take a different approach, and this reason should be recorded.
We asked the dentist to apologise, familiarise themselves with the appropriate standards and ensure that they record their reasoning should treatment differ from the recommended approach.
All our published decision reports can be read in full on our website.