Trust did not give sick child the right ongoing care

What happened

Mrs Y's son P was 20 months old (at the time of the complaint). He suffered from a number of illnesses and conditions. Mrs Y complained about P's ongoing treatment, including that the Trust failed to communicate adequately, did not manage his vitamin D levels and did not arrange appropriate reviews promptly.

What we found

The Trust acknowledged its failings and made the appropriate recommendations to reduce the risk of these happening again. However, there was little evidence that staff carried out the suggested recommendations.

Because of this, Mrs Y remained unsure whether P's care and treatment would have an adverse effect on his development and health.

Putting it right

We asked the Trust to explain, in an action plan, how it will prevent similar events happening again.

We asked the Trust to make sure that P got the appropriate follow-up appointment for all his medical problems, including appropriate liver, renal and cardiac specialists. We also asked it to make sure that P had consultant input into his ongoing treatment, and was under the care of a named consultant.

The Trust should also make sure that results and changes in P's medications are reviewed and communicated in good time.

We asked the Trust to apologise to Mrs Y for failing to ensure that staff had implemented the previous recommendations.