3. Mr E complains the Trust did not manage COVID-19 positive inpatients well while Mrs E was admitted.
4. He says the Trust’s carelessness caused Mrs E to get COVID-19 and test positive after she was discharged. He says they were both very unwell and experienced long-lasting symptoms. He explains Mrs E has a liver condition and getting the virus made them worry this would get worse.
5. Mr E would like the Trust to improve its hygiene standards and practices.
6. Mrs E was admitted to hospital in early September 2021. She was tested for COVID-19 and had a negative result.
7. Before this, Mrs E had been isolating at home to protect herself from COVID-19 as she was vulnerable because of having had a liver transplant.
8. Mrs E says some patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 were allowed to walk up and down the corridors, and came very close to her.
9. Mrs E had another COVID-19 test two days after admission and the test was negative. Mrs E asked a doctor if she could be discharged and continue to take oral antibiotics at home, to protect herself from COVID-19. The doctor agreed.
10. Within a few days of returning home, she had a dry cough and tested positive for COVID-19.
13. Before we decide if we should do a detailed investigation of a complaint, we look at whether we can link the events complained about to how someone says they were affected.
14. The Trust’s complaint response says all patients who need to be admitted to hospital have a COVID-19 test. If the result is positive, they are moved to a COVID-19 positive ward.
15. The Trust says when Mrs E was admitted, she was tested for COVID-19 and had a negative result. She was put on an acute medical ward and moved to another ward a day later.
16. In line with its policy, the Trust says patients are tested for COVID-19 every three days. During Mrs E’s admission, a patient tested positive for COVID-19 and was moved to a
17. COVID-19 positive ward. The other patients who had been in the same bay were treated as incubating (waiting to see what might develop) and the bay was closed. The whole ward was re-tested and this is when Mrs E had the second negative result.
18. The Trust said it could not comment on other patients’ activities but all colleagues and visitors to the ward wore personal protective equipment (PPE), in line with the national guidelines at the time.
19. The Trust said it encouraged patients to wear face coverings but this was challenging for patients with cognitive impairment (when mental ability, memory or thinking is affected).
20. We recognise Mr and Mrs E experienced significant distress when they tested positive for COVID-19 because of Mrs E’s vulnerability. We also recognise the ongoing symptoms they still experience include feeling tired and weak.
21. We looked at Mrs E’s medical records and these confirm the results of Mrs E’s COVID-19 tests.
22. The GMC guidelines discuss decision-making and consent and say, ‘You should try to find out what matters to patients about their health – their wishes and fears, what activities are important to their quality of life, both personally and professionally – so you can support them to assess the likely impact of the potential outcomes for each option’. The Trust acted in line with these guidelines by discharging Mrs E and allowing her to treat herself at home.
23. We understand Mrs E tested positive a few days after returning home. It can take up to 14 days for a patient to become ill or test positive for COVID-19. Because of this, we cannot say with any certainty that Mrs E got COVID-19 in hospital.
24. We thought about whether getting clinical advice from an independent nurse would help us make a clear decision on whether the Trust’s actions caused Mrs E to get COVID-19. After consideration, this would not help us identify the date Mrs E got COVID-19. As there is no other available evidence for us to look at, we are not investigating this complaint any further.
1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mr E’s complaint about The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We appreciate these matters have been upsetting for Mr and Mrs E and are sorry to learn of their experience.
2. We considered the information Mr E provided. We cannot link the events complained about to Mrs E testing positive for COVID-19, and we cannot say how or when she got COVID-19. For these reasons we are not investigating the complaint further.