A woman left in agony after she said NHS Grampian failed to offer a steroid for pain in her vulva has had her complaint partially upheld by the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO).
While the SPSO said the treatment plan for the woman was acceptable in this case, not discussing her pain, and how the health board planned to treat, fell below what was expected.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, attended at an NHS Grampian hospital with chronic pain and discomfort in her vulva. She described her treatment at the hospital as “dismissive and unsatisfactory”.
‘Not clinically appropriate’
In a report, published today, the SPSO said: “The board said that the woman did not receive the treatment initially as it was not clinically appropriate at that time.
“They said in order for the treatment to be effective, there should be a locally tender area to inject which the patient did not have.
“The board added that it was important to note that the treatment is unlicensed and so is only to be considered for use when definitely clinically indicated.”
SPSO said it had sought independent clinical advice from a consultant who said it was right for the board to have a cautious approach to the use of unlicensed treatment.
The report continued: “We noted that the treatment the patient received for many years was reasonable. However, it was later indicated that the patient had developed a localised area of pain and it would have been reasonable to discuss the treatment at that point.
“We considered that whilst the care and treatment provided to the patient was generally reasonable, the board should have discussed the treatment option of steroid/local anaesthetic injections earlier than they did.
“For this reason, on balance, we upheld the complaint.”
Recommendations accepted
NHS Grampian was told to apologise, and to make sure patients attending vulval pain clinics should be fully informed about their condition as well as the pros and cons of available treatments.
A NHS Grampian spokeswoman said: “We accept the SPSO decision in this case. We have apologised directly to the patient and would take this opportunity to apologise once again publicly.
“All recommendations have been accepted and are being implemented in line with the deadlines set by the SPSO.”
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