When Mr P found out he had MRSA (a bacterial infection that is resistant to a number of widely used antibiotics), he had the treatment suggested by an infection control team and was told he needed to have three consecutive weeks of negative swabs before he could be classed as MRSA–free.
What happened
Mr P approached his GP and was told he would need to have the swabs taken elsewhere. When the results came back, Mr P said the hospital was not told and this caused significant distress when he returned to hospital for an operation and was placed on a ward with MRSA patients.
When Mr P tried to arrange to have forms completed so he could claim employment support allowance, he could not see his GP of choice and then the relevant forms were not available.
What we found
The practice properly explained what happened and apologised for things that it could have handled better. However, it did not do enough to recognise how its failure to send the MRSA test results to the hospital affected Mr P.
The practice had already explained what happened in relation to Mr P's employment support allowance, had recognised that it had made mistakes and had apologised.
Putting it right
The practice wrote to Mr P to acknowledge the upset and distress caused at an already stressful time.
A GP practice
Merseyside
Not applicable
Apology