When Ms A's father, Mr J, became very ill, the Trust did not talk to his family before it put a 'do not resuscitate' order on his file. The nurses also did not prepare Ms A's father's body suitably before the family went in to say their goodbyes.
What happened
Mr J was in his nineties when he was admitted to the Trust following a fall at home. He had a complex medical history, including a previous quadruple heart bypass, a pacemaker, and diabetes. He had been generally unwell for a few days, with a reduced appetite, before he fell. When he went into hospital, he was found to have low blood sugar and poor kidney function. He was diagnosed with haemophilus influenza (a serious bacterial infection that can lead to pneumonia) and staff gave him antibiotics. Mr J remained unwell and died a few days later.
What we found
We partly upheld this complaint. There were failings in the care given by the Trust in relation to both the instigation of the 'do not resuscitate' order, and the nursing care after Mr J's death. These were not in line with recognised quality standards and established good practice.
There were no failings in relation to the rest of the clinical and nursing care given by the Trust, and general communication with Ms A was reasonable.
Putting it right
The Trust apologised to Ms A and paid her £500 compensation. It also put a plan in place to make sure the issues we identified did not happen again.
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Greater London
Did not apologise properly or do enough to put things right
Apology
Compensation for financial loss
Recommendation to learn lessons or draw up an action plan