Neglect of man's basic needs in hospital and poor communication led to confusion about what was happening

What happened

Mr B was admitted to hospital with a broken arm in mid-2011. He had underlying medical conditions, so discharge planning took some time. Mr B deteriorated while he was in hospital and developed an infection that led to his death in spring 2012. Mrs B, his wife, complained about several aspects of his care, including physiotherapy for his mobility, lack of discharge and poor communication with her and her husband and between the members of the clinical team. She said she had been made to feel her husband's deterioration and death were her fault.

What we found

The Trust had on the whole responded reasonably to Mrs B's complaints about care, discharge planning, and communication. Where failings had been identified, the Trust had addressed these during its handling of the complaint. However, one part of the complaint had not been addressed regarding Mr B's final diagnosis and how this was communicated to Mr and Mrs B.

Putting it right

The Trust wrote to Mrs B to apologise again for her and her husband's overall experience, the confusing communications around Mr B's diagnosis, and that some of the doctors looking after Mr B at the time of his death still thought he had a condition that he did not have.