PSOW Individual Decisions

Ms X complained that the Practice did not respond to her complaint, which she made to it in November 2021, regarding a failure to refer her for bone density scan which Ms X believes could have expedited an earlier diagnosis of osteoporosis. The Ombudsman contacted the Surgery, and it agreed to provide a response to Ms X complaint by 19 October 2022. It also agreed to apologise to Ms X for the delay in responding to her complaint and provide an explanation to her for the delay. The Ombudsman accepted these actions in settlement of Ms X’s complaint and as an alternative to an investigation.

Miss X complained that although she had raised her concernswith the GP Practice, she had not yet received a final response despitepromises that it would be issued to her. The Ombudsman was concerned that Miss X was yet to receive aresponse to her concerns and therefore contacted the GP Practice. As an alternative to an investigation, the GPPractice agreed that it would respond to Miss X’s concerns by 23 August 2022. The Ombudsman accepted this as a resolution toMiss X’s complaint.

Miss X complained that although she had raised her concernswith the GP Practice, she had not yet received a final response despitepromises that it would be issued to her. The Ombudsman was concerned that Miss X was yet to receive aresponse to her concerns and therefore contacted the GP Practice. As an alternative to an investigation, the GPPractice agreed that it would respond to Miss X’s concerns by 23 August 2022. The Ombudsman accepted this as a resolution toMiss X’s complaint.

Mr X complained that despite putting a complaint to his GP regarding issues with his prescription, he had yet to receive a response or resolution to his complaint. The Ombudsman was concerned that Mr X had yet to receive a response from the GP and therefore contacted the GP. As an alternative to an investigation, the GP agreed that it would apologise to Mr X for the delays in responding to his concerns and issue him with a formal written response by 8 August 2022. The Ombudsman accepted this as a resolution to Mr X’s complaint.

Miss A complained that she was experiencing communication issues with the Practice. She wanted a further assessment with a specific GP for her ongoing health problems. The Ombudsman was concerned because Miss A had not contacted the Practice in two months for a GP appointment. She contacted the Practice to settle the complaint. She sought and obtained the Practice’s agreement to make the appointment with Miss A’s chosen GP.

Mr X complained that despite making a formal complaint to the GP Practice in November 2021 about his medical records not being transferred, he had not received a response . The Ombudsman was concerned that Mr X had yet to receive a response to his concerns and contacted the GP Practice. As an alternative to an investigation, the GP Practice agreed to provide Mr X with a formal response to his concerns by 15 April 2022. The GP Practice also agreed to apologise to Mr X for the delay in responding.

Mrs C complained that the GP Practice failed to provide appropriate care to her daughter, J, when J fell ill in February 2021. J attended 2 appointments with 2 different GPs and sadly, died shortly after the second GP referred her to the Hospital. The Ombudsman found that the first GP assessed J appropriately but recorded a symptom of diarrhoea, leading him to diagnose viral gastroenteritis. However, it did not appear that J had diarrhoea and therefore, this diagnosis was not supported and it was more likely that she had another, non-specific infection. However, the actions taken by the first GP and the advice he gave were appropriate; the treatment he advised was suitable and there was nothing further that should have been done. Additionally, none of J’s subsequent care was influenced by this error. The Ombudsman also found that the second GP recognised that J was very unwell and correctly referred her to the Hospital. The Ombudsman concluded that the progression of J’s infection, and her ultimate outcome, could not have been predicted or prevented by either GP. He did not uphold the complaint.

Mr Y complained that a GP practice in the area of Cardiff & Vale University Health Board “the GP Practice” had failed to administer pain-relieving injections to his mother over an extended period. The Ombudsman identified that although Mr Y had raised his concerns with the GP Practice, and the GP Practice had replied by email and in telephone discussions, Mr Y had not had a formal response to his concerns. In settlement of the complaint, the GP Practice agreed to provide a full complaint response to Mr Y, clarifying the events and the planning for his mother’s treatment from November 2020.

Mrs H complained that a GP Practice (“the Practice”) in the area of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board had failed to acknowledge or respond to her complaint which she had made to it by email in early October 2021. In settlement of Mrs H’s complaint, the Practice agreed to complete the following actions within 6 weeks of the Ombudsman’s decision: a) Apologise to Mrs H for failing to acknowledge or respond to her complaint. b) Provide its complaint response to Mrs H. c) Pay Mrs H £25 for her time and trouble in making her complaint to the Ombudsman.

Mrs A complained that the response to her complaint from the Surgery failed to address all issues she raised, and that it was inappropriate that the doctor who was subject of her complaint, had provided the response. The Ombudsman found that the Surgery had not responded to all issues raised by Mrs A, but also that some of the issues raised with his office had not formed part of her complaint to the Surgery. He also considered that the response had not been provided by an appropriate member of staff. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Surgery’s agreement to meet with Mrs A to agree the scope of her complaint within 10 working days, and then provide a comprehensive response from an appropriate member of staff.

Mrs A complained that a GP Practice in the area of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (“the Practice”) had failed to provide an adequate service to her as a patient. She stated that she had telephoned the Practice of numerous occasions over the past 9months, but her calls had never been answered by staff. The Ombudsman was concerned that she had not received a service from the Practice. He was also sympathetic to the Practice who appeared to have been in the process of employing new staff to meet the demands place on it. The Ombudsman contacted the Practice regarding the telephone response aspect of Mrs A’s complaint. The Practice agreed to: • Provide the names of two members of staff that Mrs A can contact via its telephone line, who will arrange a pre-appointment telephone consultation with a GP for her. It has agreed to do this within 20 working days of the date of this letter. The Ombudsman believes that this will resolve Mrs A’s complaint.

Complained that Practice did not diagnose or refer pt in a timely manner for investigation of abdominal issues – the pt was eventually found to have advanced (colorectal) cancer and sadly died.