Failings in nursing care, although medical and surgical care was in line with established good practice

What happened

Mrs H became unwell on holiday with severe pain in her arm. She returned home and tried to get treatment from her local hospital. Over the following months she received painkillers, injections and then two rounds of surgery to try to alleviate the spinal condition that was the source of her pain. This led to her spending a period of some weeks in hospital including staying during the Christmas period, when she felt the nursing care she experienced was very poor. Despite the treatment, she was left with some pain, which has affected her life.

Mrs H complained to the hospital, which said that her surgical care and treatment were appropriate. The Trust found some failings in her nursing care but did not say how it would improve services to prevent similar problems occurring again.

What we found

We saw no problems in the way in which Mrs H was diagnosed and treated. The reason for first trying painkillers, then injections and surgery only as a last resort was that surgery only alleviates the pain in some cases.

We agreed with Mrs H that her nursing care was poor and that, although the Trust had acknowledged some of this, it had not acted to put things right for other patients.

Putting it right

The Trust apologised to Mrs H for failings in nursing care and paid her £750 compensation. It also drew up plans to review all nursing documentation to make sure every patient is assessed when they arrive and that this leads to a personalised, effective care plan that is regularly evaluated; to review nursing handovers; and to review documentation used to monitor bowel function.