Mr A complained that the Health Board had failed to investigate a complaint he made. The complaint, made in October 2020, was regarding the Health Board’s failure to diagnose that his wife had fractured her thigh and delays in treatment for fluid on her lungs.
The Health Board had conducted an investigation referring the outcome to its Redress Panel for consideration of a qualifying liability. The Redress Panel referred it back to the Health Board as the investigation was not thorough enough.
The Ombudsman considered that there had been delays by the Health Board and that it had not communicated with Mr A (via his Advocate) on a regular basis.
The Ombudsman contacted the Health Board and has agreed to
a) Prioritise the completion of outstanding issues, delaying the outcome of the complaint investigation, so that a decision can be made whether it will be considered by the Redress Panel. This should be completed within 12 weeks of the date of this decision letter.
b) Provide the complainant with a 4 weekly update of progress until a decision has been made regarding the referral of the completed investigation to the Redress Panel.
The Ombudsman believes that this will resolve the issues raised in Mr A’s complaint.