Ms L, who was in her seventies, was dissatisfied with how her diabetes was managed during a hospital admission and the fact that the discharge summary was incorrect. She also complained about the attitude of one of the nurses.
What happened
Ms L went into Nottingham City Hospital for breast reconstruction surgery because of earlier breast disease. She was unhappy that her diabetes was not managed in her usual way and the discharge summary wrongly stated that she had cancer. Ms L also complained that one of the nurses was rude and made accusations about Ms L and her family.
Ms L was dissatisfied with the Trust's response to her complaint and therefore asked us to investigate her concerns.
What we found
We did not uphold this complaint. The Trust failed to thoroughly explore Ms L's needs relating to her diabetes and this led to failings in the management of her condition. The discharge letter was inaccurate and this caused distress. The Trust had already given an appropriate remedy for these issues by apologising and putting measures in place to stop them happening again.
Because there were no independent witnesses, we were unable to take a view on the attitude of the nurse. But we noted that the Trust had provided appropriate apologies and had discussed the issues with the staff involved.
We considered that the Trust had already done all that we would expect to resolve Ms L's complaint.
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Nottingham
Did not apologise properly or do enough to put things right
Not applicable