Clinical treatment in hospital : Hywel Dda University Health Board

Mr A complained about his mother’s (“Mrs A”) care and treatment at Glangwili General Hospital (“the Hospital”) following a gastroscopy investigation in October 2019 which diagnosed her hiatus hernia (where part of the stomach bulges into the chest). Mr A was concerned that his mother’s hernia was not managed or treated. He said that a private consultation in October 2020 confirmed that the cause of his mother’s symptoms was her hiatus hernia, and she was given advice on how to manage it.
The Ombudsman’s investigation found that Mrs A’s care was reasonable, appropriate and consistent with accepted clinical practice. The Ombudsman noted that Mrs A was offered a specialist CT scan to assess blood supply to her bowel, the next reasonable step in identifying the cause of her symptoms, which Mrs A chose not to accept. He noted that Mrs A’s GP was also requested to prescribe ongoing medication and to review her. Mrs A was also appropriately referred to various clinicians and given dietary advice to manage her condition. Given the available evidence, the Ombudsman did not uphold Mr A’s complaint.