GP referral for baby boy was too slow

What happened

Ms A's baby son had been vomiting and had reflux for some weeks after his birth. She took him to see his GP and although the GP decided to refer him to a paediatrician, the Practice did not refer the case until eight weeks later.

The Practice did not prescribe special milk recommended by the hospital Trust for the baby's allergies. It also prescribed a different cream than was listed by the paediatrician. The Practice was also a little slow in prescribing an anti-acid medication.

What we found

The hospital referral was too slow and this caused distress to the family and discomfort for Ms A's baby son. Although the Practice apologised for this and explained how it will avoid a similar situation in future, we felt that a financial payment was justified to acknowledge the distress caused and the frustration for Ms A in having to chase this up.

The Practice did not explain properly why the cream it prescribed was different to that

requested by the paediatrician, and we asked it to apologise.

Its actions in relation to the other prescriptions were reasonable, and there was no evidence that the Practice did not act on correspondence from the hospital once it received it.

Putting it right

The Practice paid Ms A £500 to acknowledge the distress and frustration caused by the eight-week delay in making her son's hospital referral and the fact that she had to chase this up, and for prescribing an alternative cream in place of the one requested by the specialist. It also apologised for this.