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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. 

 

Type
Type
Health cases only
Trust sent older confused patient to wrong address
Summary 554 |
Ms P complained about the care given to her father, Mr P. She said that his discharge was wrong and that Trust staff mislabelled his medication. She said this led to her father's physical condition seriously deteriorating. Mr P has since died.
Patient discharged without appropriate support
Summary 548 |
The Trust judged that a patient was bullying staff and discharged him but failed to adequately warn him or follow the correct procedure. The Trust also failed to provide follow–up support.
GPs missed opportunity to make timely hospital referral
Summary 547 |
Ms R complained that the GP Practice misdiagnosed a lump on her father's knee as a cyst when it was later found to be cancerous, did not refer him for a biopsy and did not take appropriate action when the lump grew. Ms R complained that the Trust then failed to diagnose her father's cancer. Ms R believed her father might have survived if he had had an earlier diagnosis. She said that he was in considerable pain in the last months of his life.
Failure to take out tooth led to distress and affected future treatment
Summary 546 |
The Dental Practice did not take out Miss S's baby tooth although she was a teenager when it decided this. This distressed Miss S over four years. Privately–funded treatment to align her teeth may have taken longer because the baby tooth was still in place.
Poor record keeping meant trust could not fully respond to complaint about hernia surgery
Summary 545 |
Mr G complained about the treatment he received from the Trust during and after hernia repair surgery. He said that he experienced significant ongoing pain following the surgery, and this had a significant effect on his quality of life. He said the pain was a simple problem but the Trust could not treat it effectively. He also said the Trust could not explain what caused the pain.