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NHS Grampian apology over ‘unreasonable’ care of late cancer patient

NHS Grampian bosses have apologised following an ombudsman investigation into care at Woodend Hospital. Picture by Kami Thomson
NHS Grampian bosses have apologised following an ombudsman investigation into care at Woodend Hospital. Picture by Kami Thomson

NHS Grampian bosses have apologised after a patient with metastatic cancer was not referred for specialist treatment.

A scan for the patient, known only as A, was not requested, and their case was not passed to the oncology department.

They later died and NHS Grampian has now been ordered to apologise to the patient’s family.

What was in the complaint to the ombudsman?

The case was raised with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) by one of A’s relatives, referred to as C, and related to poor care at Woodend Hospital and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

The ombudsman’s investigation looked at the incidents after the patient was found to have metastatic cancer – where it had spread from one part of their body to another.

It found there had been a “failure” to request a CT scan, and also to expedite a cystoscopy, where a long flexible camera is used to inspect the bladder

The ombudsman said: “In addition, we found that A should have been referred to oncology (specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer).

“In view of these findings, we concluded that the care and treatment was unreasonable and we upheld C’s complaint.”

NHS Grampian told to make changes

Due to patient confidentiality, it is not known exactly when these issues arose, or when C’s complaint was first lodged.

The SPSO told the health board to apologise for the “unreasonable delay in performing an urgent CT scan, as well as the lack of an oncology referral.

It has also instructed NHS Grampian to ensure “appropriate communication” with patients and their representatives, and that “timely investigations and referrals take place where relevant.”

A spokeswoman for the health board said: “We accept the decision of the ombudsman in this case and all recommendations have been completed.

“The care we provided to A was not of the standard we would wish.

“We wrote directly to C to apologise for this and would like to take this opportunity to apologise once again publicly.”

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