When Mrs P went into hospital, Trust staff did not help her when she had unexpected symptoms or record what had happened. She was also unhappy about the information staff gave her when she went home.
What happened
In 2013 Mrs P had throat surgery in hospital at the Trust. Trust staff discharged her home the next day.
While Mrs P was in hospital, she was incontinent and bled vaginally. Nursing and medical staff did not address either of these issues. When Mrs P went home, staff did not give her any aftercare information about her throat operation, so she had to visit her GP. Mrs P told us she was stressed by what happened and had lost faith in the service given by the NHS.
The Trust apologised for the distress and upset caused to Mrs P. It said she had been cared for appropriately when she was in hospital, and told her about the steps it would take to address the issues around the lack of aftercare information.
What we found
We partly upheld this complaint. We concluded that while there were failings around the lack of aftercare information, and staff recorded information about Mrs P's incontinence and vaginal bleeding poorly, we were unable to link these failings to the injustice she claimed.
We were satisfied that the failings would be resolved when the Trust implemented our recommendations.
Putting it right
The Trust acknowledged and apologised for its failings. It drew up an action plan to prevent similar problems in future.
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Tyne and Wear
Did not apologise properly or do enough to put things right
Apology
Recommendation to learn lessons or draw up an action plan