Miss C complained about the care and treatment her mother, Mrs A, received while a patient at Wrexham Maelor Hospital. Specifically whether antibiotic therapy should have been administered, whether her discharge from hospital was appropriate and if a referral to Palliative Care should have been made.
The investigation found that as Mrs A was not suffering from an infection there was no basis to administer antibiotics. It also found that Mrs A was clinically fit to be discharged from hospital. These parts of Miss C’s complaint were not upheld.
Mrs A’s condition meant that a referral to Palliative Care should have been considered. The uncertainty of not knowing what the outcome of a referral may have been was an injustice to Miss C. This part of Miss C’s complaint was upheld.
The Health Board agreed to apologise to Miss C for failing to consider a Palliative Care referral and to ensure that the clinicians that treated Mrs A are familiar with the criteria for such a referral and of the need to record decisions regarding this.