Mrs A complained about the care and treatment her late husband received from Hywel Dda University Health Board. She said that the Health Board had not fully acknowledged the lack of communication received regarding her husband’s diagnosis and prognosis.
The Ombudsman decided that whilst the Health Board had taken steps to resolve the complaint, its records showed that a timeline completed by a clinician identified that Mrs A’s complaint about not knowing the extent of her husband’s prognosis was entirely possible. Mrs A had not received an explicit apology and recognition of the impact this had. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Health Board’s agreement that within 1 month it would issue a formal written apology to Mrs A, along with an outline of any learning taken from the complaint.