Mr F complained that the GP practice did not provide adequate care and treatment to his mother, Mrs F, when she presented with pain in her right leg. He said the GP failed to refer his mother for X–rays or scans. As a result, she was not diagnosed with cancer until it was too late to treat successfully.
What happened
Mrs F visited her GP from early 2013 with complaints of swelling and pain in her ankle. She received treatment for this, but by summer 2013 she also complained of swelling in her knee. The GP referred Mrs F to the musculoskeletal department at the hospital.
The hospital noted a swelling in Mrs F's thigh and she was advised to go to A&E. At A&E she had an X–ray and was told that she would need an MRI scan. There was no record of a scan being arranged until Mrs F contacted the hospital in autumn 2013. Following the scan Mrs F was diagnosed with cancer. She died in early 2014. Mr F considered her death may have been avoided had appropriate referrals been made sooner.
What we found
We did not uphold this complaint. The GP made appropriate referrals for the symptoms Mrs F presented with. There was no record of her mentioning a problem with her thigh until after the A&E attendance in summer 2013. The records indicated that the GP took appropriate and timely action when a new problem was identified, and we found no reason to doubt the accuracy of the records.
We found that the A&E discharge letter was lacking in detail and did not give the GP any instructions to arrange further investigations, including an MRI scan. There was a delay in Mrs F having the MRI scan, but this was not a failing by the GP practice.
The GP practice had provided a detailed and thorough response to Mr F's complaint.
A GP practice
Cheshire
Did not take sufficient steps to improve service
Did not apologise properly or do enough to put things right