Mrs A complained that the GP Surgery failed to investigate what stage her mother’s, Mrs B’s, COPD was at and identify metastatic cancer.
The Ombudsman decided that whilst the overall care provided to Mrs B was appropriate, the Surgery managed 4 COPD exacerbations in a row over the telephone, before seeing Mrs B for an in person consultation, when it would have been appropriate to have seen her in person sooner. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Surgery’s agreement, that within 4 weeks it would send a written apology to Mrs A for not seeing her mother in person at an earlier stage after her COPD exacerbations.