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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Dentist gave poor care

Summary 664 | December 2014

Mrs G said the dentist did not properly treat one of her teeth and a filling fell out of another one. She complained, but the Practice did not respond because the dentist had been temporary staff and had left the Practice.

Trust did not properly assess condition of older patient with lung cancer

Summary 663 | December 2014

Mr S was told by Trust he had a terminal illness and would not be able to stand having invasive treatment. But he got a second opinion and made a full recovery.

Trust's delay in reacting to patient's deterioration caused upset but did not contribute to his death

Summary 662 | December 2014

The Trust should have told Mrs R sooner that her husband's condition was getting worse so that she could have seen him before he lost consciousness.

Dentist did not perform adequate investigation and failed to find several cavities

Summary 661 | December 2014

Mrs T complained about the dental care and treatment her daughter received.

Trust failed to act on early signs of a heart attack in older woman

Summary 660 | December 2014

Mrs J could have been referred to cardiologists much earlier if the Trust had acted on an early abnormal ECG tests result, and signs she may have another heart attack.

A dentist did not properly investigate toothache which led to pain, inconvenience and further treatment

Summary 659 | December 2014

Mrs Q complained that a dentist made an inaccurate diagnosis of her toothache. She said that if the dentist had found tooth decay at an earlier stage, she would not have needed an extraction. Mrs Q also complained about the length of time it took for the Practice to respond to her complaint.

Poor service around an older woman's discharge from hospital

Summary 658 | December 2014

Nursing staff should have raised Miss A's discharge with a doctor or senior member of staff when Miss A refused to be discharged from hospital.

Poor record keeping led to partly unresolved complaint

Summary 657 | December 2014

Mrs A's dental problem was not diagnosed in A&E but later by an emergency dentist. But poor record keeping in A&E failed to show staff had made an error.

Patient experienced problems with a test to view her airways

Summary 656 | December 2014

Mrs F complained about distress she felt while undergoing a bronchoscopy procedure and the effect this has had on her afterwards.

Young woman with disabilities admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties and given wrong oxygen levels

Summary 655 | December 2014

Ms A complained that her daughter, Miss B, was given too much oxygen in hospital and this was not recognised soon enough, which led to delay in her treatment.