The family of a loved one who died following a ruptured bowel have seen their complaint over the tragic patient’s treatment thrown out.
NHS Ayrshire & Arran were adjudged to have administered “a reasonable standard of treatment” in the case, according to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO).
The organisation was asked this month to look into the case which involved a patient who had been previously been treated at University Hospital, Ayr, and was in “severe pain.”
A CT scan was carried out and the patient was discharged without a follow-up appointment.
However, the patient sadly died, prompting a complaint over their treatment.
Due to confidentiality, the tragic patient is only known as ‘A’ and their relative as ‘C’.
An extract from the SPSO investigation said: “C complained to the board about the treatment provided to their late relative (A) who died of a ruptured bowel.
“A had been in University Hospital, Ayr , two weeks previously with symptoms of severe pain.
“Staff had carried out tests and a scan, and discharged A home without follow-up.”
However, according to the complainant, the board should have carried out “more intensive investigations”, which may have “discovered A was still having bowel problems” and provided “additional treatment.”
But the SPSO said: “We took independent advice from a consultant in acute medicine and a consultant radiologist.
“We found that staff at the hospital provided a reasonable standard of treatment based on A’s reported symptoms.
“We also found that it was not unreasonable to discharge A home with antibiotics based on the diagnosis of pyelonephritis (kidney infection) following a CT scan.
“Although a subsequent CT scan carried out on readmission showed evidence of infarct (a small localised area of dead tissue resulting from failure of blood supply) which might have been evident on the original scan, it was not unreasonable to have diagnosed pyelonephritis following the original scan. We therefore did not uphold the complaint.”
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