Trust did not adequately describe proposed surgery or assess its impact on woman with mental health problems

What happened

Miss C had a history of bladder and pelvic problems. She also had mental health problems, such as anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.

The Trust carried out three different surgical procedures on her during the same operation in 2011. Miss C complained that this led to a range of significant side effects, including pelvic pain and incontinence, which affected her mental health.

Miss C made a number of other complaints, including that she was not told why she was having the different surgeries or about their possible side effects, and that she felt pressured into undergoing the surgery. She also complained that Trust staff were rude to her and discharged her from their care when they should not have.

What we found

The Trust did not give Miss C enough information to allow her to fully consent to two of the three surgeries. It handled her complaint about this poorly, which caused her frustration and distress. However, we did not consider that there was enough evidence that Trust staff pressured Miss C to have the surgery, or that the physical or mental symptoms she experienced afterwards were caused by the surgery.

The Trust also failed to book Miss C for a postsurgical review to assess the impact of the surgery on her bladder, and her pelvic problems. This meant she lost faith in the Trust.

We did not uphold her complaint that she was discharged from the Trust, on the day of surgery or from the urological department, too early. There was not enough evidence to uphold this or some other aspects of her complaint, including that Trust staff were rude to her.

We noted that many of the Trust's responses to her complaint were reasonable.

Putting it right

The Trust apologised to Miss C for its failings and paid her £500 to recognise that she did not fully consent to all of the surgery and her loss of faith in the Trust, as well as the frustration and distress caused by the Trust's complaint handling.