A GP practice in NHS Ayrshire and Arran has successfully defended claims they gave a woman ‘false reassurance’ over a lump on her breast which turned out to be cancerous.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) concluded that the patient was given “appropriate examinations” and an “appropriate referral” to hospital following an investigation into the case.
Details of the case were released this week by the organisation, which is the scrutiny body for final stage complaints made about the National Health Service in Scotland.
The case centred around a female patient, known only as ‘C’ for confidentiality reasons.
Details of the GP practice in Ayrshire and Arran, at the centre of the complaint, have not been released.
In their investigation the SPSO said: “C complained to the practice about the lack of treatment when they attended two consultations reporting a breast lump.
“C felt that the GPs they saw gave them false reassurance that there was nothing to worry about. C then attended the hospital specialists for an ultrasound scan (a scan that uses sound waves to create images of organs and structures inside the body), biopsy (tissue sample) and mammogram (an x-ray of the breast) and received results which showed evidence of a cancerous lump which required chemotherapy (a treatment where medicine is used to kill cancerous cells) and surgery.
“We took independent advice from a GP.
“We found that the GPs involved carried out appropriate examinations and that it was appropriate to refer C to the hospital specialists for further examination.”
In conclusion the SPSO did not uphold the complaint, although some feedback was provided to the practice in an effort to improve learning.
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