Case summaries

These short, anonymised stories show the profound impact that failures in public services can have on the lives of individuals and their families.

Please note we have not published any new case summaries on this page since 2015. In April 2021 we began publishing our casework decision statements and investigation reports on our decisions portal.

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Trust provided good clinical care but failed in complaint handling

Summary 835 | February 2015

Mr A complained about his wife's care but it was the Trust's complaint handling that proved to be the actual failing.

Standard of Trust's mental health assessments questioned

Summary 834 | February 2015

Miss S complained about the standard of two psychiatric assessments and said she received inappropriate, prejudicial and judgmental comments. She said failings stopped her from getting the help she needed.

Failings in care of older patient

Summary 833 | February 2015

Mrs N was distressed by the nursing and medical care her mother received during an inpatient hospital stay and also by failings in record keeping and communication.

Family prevented from using cream of choice on son's eczema

Summary 832 | February 2015

When Ms P and Mr Q wanted to use unpreserved creams on their son's mild eczema, it was treated as a safeguarding matter by the Trust.

Trust unreasonably refused to respond to complaint

Summary 831 | February 2015

Miss B complained that the Trust declined to investigate her concerns about the care and treatment her late mother received in 2009 because it said her complaint was 'out of time'.

Clinical Commissioning Group failed to provide an appropriate refund for nursing home costs

Summary 830 | February 2015

Ms R complained that the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) had failed to meet the full cost of her father's nursing home care, although he was eligible for NHS continuing care funding.

Trust failed to update GP details which led to wrong prescription

Summary 829 | February 2015

Mr F complained about the medication his father was taking, that it had been prescribed for too long, and the dose increased when it should have been decreased.

GP failed to give accurate explanation for deregistering patient

Summary 828 | February 2015

A GP practice decided to deregister two patients but did not explain why. The patients said that deregistering them was not justified.

Dental practice did not leave hole in patient's tooth

Summary 827 | February 2015

Miss F complained that poor dental treatment left her with an unsightly hole in her tooth and made her feel conscious about her appearance.

GP restarted older patient on blood pressure medication after she collapsed

Summary 826 | February 2015

Mrs T, who was in her nineties, complained with the help of her representative, that her GP inappropriately prescribed her Doxazosin. She said this caused postural hypotension (a fall in blood pressure when she stood up) and led to her being admitted to hospital. When she was discharged, she had a stroke and had to live in a residential home. She said this caused her financial injustice as she had to fund her own residential home costs.