Trust did not manage pain after an operation

What happened

Mr A had an operation to remove a non–cancerous tumour from his brain. After the operation, some of Mr A's cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, leaked, and he developed meningitis and pneumonia.

The Trust managed the fluid leak with a drain, which staff put in a week after the operation. However, a week later, Mr A had to have another operation to seal the leak. The Trust discharged him from hospital after another week.

Mr A said that failings on the part of the Trust put his life in danger and caused him to suffer intolerable levels of pain. After his operation, Mr A said, he was left with problems with his left eye and weakness in his facial muscles. He said he had daily headaches, and that his concentration, memory, and reasoning were affected. He said the events also had an impact on his emotional and psychological wellbeing.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. There was no fault in the operation to remove the tumour. The Trust also managed the fluid leak appropriately and there were no problems in the nursing care staff gave Mr A in the high dependency unit. However, there was fault in how the Trust gave Mr A fluids, its pain management, nil by mouth instructions, communication and complaint handling.

These faults led to a lost opportunity to manage the pain that was due to low pressure headaches caused by the fluid leak. The problems in communication and complaint handling caused Mr A and his family additional worry, frustration and distress.

Although the Trust had already taken action to improve matters for future patients, it needed to do more to put things right for Mr A.

Putting it right

The Trust wrote to Mr A acknowledging the faults we found in his care and complaint handling, and to apologise for the impact they had had on him. It paid Mr A £550.