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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Midwives failed to properly support a woman's choice of home birth because of her epilepsy

Summary 684 | December 2014

Midwives told a woman with epilepsy that her baby would be born with breathing difficulties and said that she should give birth in an obstetric unit although she wanted a home birth.

Shortcomings in nursing care and complaint handling

Summary 683 | December 2014

Mr D complained about the quality of the medical and nursing care he received as an inpatient at the Trust in 2013. He was also unhappy about how the Trust handled his complaint.

GP practice failed to deal with woman’s abdominal symptoms at an early stage

Summary 682 | December 2014

Ms J complained that her GP Practice misdiagnosed her appendicitis, which delayed treatment. She felt that she lost an ovary because of the delay, and she was also unhappy about the Practice's complaint handling.

Shortcomings in care and poor communication by Trust

Summary 681 | December 2014

Mrs L complained that her father, Mr K, received inadequate care and treatment. She believed this contributed to his kidney failure and death.

Patient wanted a trust to pay for a scan he had arranged

Summary 680 | December 2014

Mr B complained that the Trust did not offer him an MRI scan for an ankle injury, so he paid for one himself.

Trust could have given patient more information when she complained

Summary 679 | December 2014

Mrs F had complications after a gastric band operation, and complained to the Trust. Her treatment was correct but the Trust could have done more to keep her up to date about her complaint.

Unexplained delays in outpatient clinics and inappropriate comments in medical records

Summary 678 | December 2014

Mrs Y complained about delays at two outpatient clinics. She also said that comments in her records were inaccurate and should be redacted.

Failings in communication at rehabilitation hospital

Summary 677 | December 2014

Ms B's partner, Mr K, suffered a cardiac arrest and had a brain injury that meant he needed rehabilitation in hospital. Ms B became unhappy when staff treated her with suspicion.

NHS England did not acknowledge delays in continuing care assessment

Summary 676 | December 2014

Mrs D's family complained about the decision not to award their mother continuing healthcare funding. They also said that there had been significant delays in the decision–making process.

Low–risk patient had stroke when taken off medication to thin his blood

Summary 675 | December 2014

The Trust was correct to say there was no clear research evidence of the best way to balance the risk of bleeding against the risk of blood clots and stroke.