Family distressed by failings in nursing care

What happened

Mr S was admitted to an acute hospital after surgery. He died in hospital a few weeks later. His family complained about several aspects of his care and treatment both at the acute hospital (the Acute Trust) and during a short stay at a community hospital (the Care Trust).

What we found

The doctors and nurses caring for Mr S did what they should have done for the most part. However, nurses at the Acute Trust should have assessed Mr S's fall risk and helped him with his food. It was distressing for his family to witness these failings and we partly upheld the complaint.

We did not uphold the complaint about the Care Trust.

Putting it right

The Acute Trust acknowledged and apologised for its failings and showed evidence that it had learnt from the complaint in order to stop this happening again.