Too many ward moves caused upset and lack of confidence in care

What happened

Mr L's family complained that Trust staff did not manage his clinical care appropriately. They felt he had been moved from ward to ward unnecessarily, his insulin was wrongly reduced and he caught a hospital vomiting bug. Mr L's family believed all of this contributed to his premature death.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. Mr L's clinical care was appropriately managed. His insulin was properly reduced and there was no evidence he had contracted a hospital vomiting bug.

However, the number of times he was moved was unacceptable and the Trust had not recognised the upset and distress caused by this. There was also a delay in contacting Mr L's family when his condition deteriorated.

Putting it right

The Trust wrote to apologise for the upset and distress caused by the unacceptable number of bed moves. It explained what it had done to minimise moves and promote continuity of care. It also apologised for the upset caused by the delay in contacting Mr L's family when his condition deteriorated.