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 gave patient good care, but communication with her family was poor

Summary 193 | May 2014

Mrs A's son, Mr A, was concerned about the care and treatment of his mother during her two–day admission to the Trust. He thought her care and treatment were inadequate and may have led to her premature death.

Inconvenience and frustration when dental practice refused to give treatment and then handled complaint poorly

Summary 192 | May 2014

Miss H complained that the Dental Practice refused to give her another appointment after she had cancelled some appointments with her dentist. She also felt that it handled her complaint poorly.

Complaint about delay in diagnosing epilepsy and failure to provide relevant advice and information

Summary 191 | May 2014

Mr J complained about his treatment by the Trust after he went to A&E after a seizure.

GP failed to refer husband for further investigations for prostate cancer and delayed in diagnosing wife's heart problems

Summary 190 | May 2014

Mr B visited his GP in autumn 2007 with symptoms that could be suggestive of prostate cancer. Mrs B visited the same GP early the next year complaining of breathlessness.

Trust refused to readmit older woman with gangrene

Summary 189 | May 2014

Mrs Y was 72 and had previously suffered a stroke. She was under the care of her GP Practice and a specialist podiatry service for an ulcer on her foot.

Insufficient staffing levels caused distress

Summary 188 | May 2014

A widow complained about several aspects of the care her late husband received when he was admitted to hospital with a head injury.

Hospital failed to diagnose fractured hip, and operation was not to recognised standards

Summary 187 | May 2014

A patient did not receive the right scans to confirm whether she had fractured her hip. A later hip replacement did not use a recognised implant.

Practice removed patient from list without warning

Summary 186 | May 2014

Mr U complained that his GP Practice did not give him appropriate care and treatment for heel pain. Mr U also complained that he was unfairly removed from the Practice list after he complained about the care and treatment he received.

GP failed to make home visits to older patient

Summary 185 | May 2014

A GP prescribed medication over the telephone, but only visited Mrs S once.

GP Practice ignored wife's complaint about husband's care and treatment

Summary 184 | May 2014

A GP practice demonstrated poor complaint handling when it failed to respond to a second letter of complaint from a patient's wife about her husband's care and treatment.