Trust did not communicate well with carer, which caused unnecessary distress

What happened

Mr A was admitted to hospital following a stroke. While he was in hospital, staff left a letter for Mr A inviting his family to meet the stroke specialist nurse. Mrs G, his partner and full time carer, said she did not receive this letter so no one could take up this offer. However, it was clearly recorded in the notes that it was left with Mr A. This was the ward procedure at the time.

Mrs G was entitled to a carer's badge, but staff did not tell her about this. She also experienced problems when she tried to arrange an appointment with a consultant to discuss Mr A's condition. Mr A died in hospital shortly afterwards.

Mrs G complained to the Trust about Mr A's care as well as how she was treated. But she was not happy with its response so she came to us.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. There were no failings in the care the Trust provided to Mr A. However, staff did not give Mrs G information about her rights as a carer, including that she was allowed to visit 24 hours a day, and entitled to hospital accommodation and reduced priced parking. This meant that Mrs G could not be with Mr A as much as she would have liked.

The letter informing Mr A's family about the stroke team was not passed on, which meant Mrs G did not know who to speak to about Mr A's care.

After Mrs G complained to the Trust it identified some changes it should make but it had not put these into action, particularly about how it could improve the way patients make appointments with consultants.

The Trust had already accepted its failings and taken reasonable steps to improve the service for carers. However, although it had received other complaints about providing information about contacting the stroke team, it had still not come up with a solution to the problem.

Putting it right

The Trust agreed to give relatives details of the stroke team when appropriate, and to offer meetings with the consultant within a set timeframe.