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A practice in the Plymouth area

P-001781 · Statement · Decision date: 27 February 2023
Complaint (AI summary)
Mrs E complained the Practice negligently prescribed quinine sulphate without monitoring and an unnecessary duplicate medication, leading to her mother's hospitalisation, injury, and decline.
Outcome (AI summary)
Complaint closed. The ombudsman advised that Mrs E could pursue legal action regarding the matter.

Full decision details

The Complaint

4. Mrs E complains on 12 August 2021 the Practice prescribed a 28-day course of quinine sulphate to her mother without monitoring her. She says on 16 August 2021 the Practice was negligent in prescribing omeprazole (a medication used to treat reflux) when her mother was already taking rabeprazole, a drug with the same benefits. She says the Practice failed to provide ongoing care.

5. Mrs E tells us as a result of the quinine sulphate being prescribed, her mother was admitted to hospital with heart failure, which she says is a known side effect of taking quinine sulphate.

6. Mrs E says the prescribing of omeprazole in addition to rabeprazole caused her mother to suffer excessive tiredness and balance issues, which led to general confusion and difficulty walking. She tells us her mother passed out four times and on the fourth occasion broke her femur (thigh bone) and bent the screw in her replacement hip, which caused her right foot to turn inwards.

7. Mrs E says her mother had to spend months learning to walk again and contracted E. coli while in the hospital.

8. Mrs E says her mother had to spend months in a nursing home, unable to see her family and friends and constantly worrying about what would happen to her. Her mother contracted Covid-19 while in the nursing home.

9. Mrs E tells us her mother was unable to regain the same level of mobility after breaking her leg and she became housebound. She says her mother had to employ a cleaner and a gardener. Her mother’s mental health was affected, she felt low and frightened and lost a lot of weight. Mrs E says the Practice’s negligence led to her mother’s decline and sudden death.

10. Mrs E says it was distressing to see her mother in this condition and to be unable to visit the nursing home due to Covid-19 restrictions. She says it was traumatic to lose her mother so suddenly.

11. Mrs E would like the Practice to admit it was negligent. She is seeking compensation for the sudden death of her mother.

Findings

13. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has (or had) the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is (or was) unreasonable in the circumstances. We have discussed this with Mrs E to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look into.

14. Mrs E says the negligent prescribing, lack of monitoring and lack of follow-up care led to the decline in her mother's health and her sudden death. She says it caused great distress to her mother before she died. Learning to walk again and spending time in a nursing home, unable to see family and friends, was very hard for her mother. She says it was distressing for her to see her mother in such poor condition, and to lose her so suddenly was traumatic.

15. Mrs E seeks an admission the Practice was negligent and financial compensation in excess of £10,000 for her mother’s sudden death.

16. In general terms, clinical negligence takes place when a patient who underwent a treatment becomes injured as a result of that treatment. Failure to carry out appropriate treatment could also amount to negligence.

17. We have carefully considered Mrs E's complaint about the care and treatment her mother received from the Practice. We consider Mrs E could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us given the claimed failings, the impact Mrs E says they had and the large financial outcome she is seeking.

18. A court would be able to carefully consider and assess an appropriate amount of compensation for the impact Mrs E claims. We would not want to disadvantage Mrs E by ‘under-settling’ the claim when it would be more appropriate for her to go through a legal process.

19. Mrs E has not given any reason why she would be unable to explore legal action and has agreed to do this.

20. Mrs E has advised a coroner's inquest is now underway to determine the cause of her mother’s death. If Mrs E returns to us after seeking legal advice, we cannot investigate her complaint until the coroner’s inquest is complete.

21. If there are any outstanding outcomes that cannot be achieved through the legal claim, Mrs E can bring the complaint back to us to consider further.

22. For these reasons, we cannot take any further action on Mrs E’s complaint.

Our Decision

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mrs E’s complaint about a practice in the Plymouth area (the Practice).

2. We were very sorry to hear about the events experienced by Mrs E and her mother and recognise the distress they caused.

3. We consider Mrs E could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us.

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