Inadequate pain relief for girl who had surgery for curvature of the spine

Summary 705 |

Ms P, a young adult, had surgery for curvature of the spine. Her mother, Mrs P, said staff did not give her enough pain relief. Records relating to this were unreliable, which meant that the Trust did not respond appropriately to Mrs P's complaint.


What happened

After Ms P's surgery to correct a curvature of her spine, she was in pain. Her mother complained to the Trust that during one particular night, nursing staff gave Ms P inadequate medication for pain relief. This, she said, had resulted in Ms P having a sleepless night in a state of pain and agitation, and in Mrs P losing confidence in the health service. The Trust investigated Mrs P's complaint but Mrs P was not satisfied with its response and complained to us.

What we found

Nurses did not assess and manage Ms P's pain properly and this caused her unnecessary suffering. The Trust's records relating to the administration of pain medication were not as reliable as they should have been, and this had a bearing on its handling of Mrs P's complaint. Mrs P was distressed by witnessing her daughter's suffering and by not getting a satisfactory response to her complaint.

Putting it right

The Trust apologised to Ms P and paid her and Mrs P £200 each. It also prepared an action plan which described what it has done or plans to do to avoid a recurrence of the failings identified in our report.

Health or Parliamentary
Health
Organisations we investigated

The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Location

Tyne and Wear

Complainants' concerns ?

Not applicable

Result

Apology

Compensation for financial loss

Recommendation to learn lessons or draw up an action plan