Delay in neurology review did not lead to serious failings in patient's care

What happened

While he was in hospital, Mr K was taken for an MRI scan (a procedure that uses a strong magnetic field to create images). The scan did not go ahead because Mr K had had an operation to fit a stent (a tube used to relieve a constricted vein) in 1997, and staff could not be sure the stent would be safe for an MRI. Dr B, a consultant neurologist, examined Mr K. He found no serious neurological symptoms and decided that Mr K did not need an MRI scan. Mr K was sent home that day.

Mr K continued to have problems, and he had an MRI scan privately. He was diagnosed with spinal cord compression. Mr K died in late 2012, and Mrs K continued with the complaint on his behalf. She said that he had been kept in hospital for too long without staff finding what was wrong.

What we found

It took too long for the Trust to arrange for a neurologist to see Mr K. We could not say that he would have been discharged from hospital sooner if a neurologist had seen him earlier, but we recognised that this was possible.

It was reasonable not to give Mr K an MRI scan while there was uncertainty about his stent. Once Dr B had seen Mr K and decided there was no need to carry out an MRI scan, it was reasonable to send him home without one.

There was evidence that Mr K's condition got worse after he was discharged from hospital, so the fact that he later had a scan did not show that the Trust's decision not to carry one out was wrong. It was also reasonable for the Trust to say that most cases of spinal cord compression are managed conservatively, and that it would not have treated Mr K any differently if it had done a scan.

Putting it right

The Trust acknowledged that it took too long for Mr K to see a neurologist, and apologised for this.