Ms M complained on behalf of her friend, Ms A, about the care that Ms A received from the GP Practice and the nurse practitioner in August 2017. The GP had also failed to review Ms A’s anti-psychotic medication. In relation to the Health Board, Ms M’s concerns centred on Ms A’s care during her inpatient admission at Amman Valley Hospital (“the Community Hospital”). She also complained about Ms A’s Community Mental Health Team (“CMHT”) care following Ms A’s discharge from the Hospital. Finally, Ms M was unhappy with the Health Board’s handling of her complaint.
The Ombudsman’s investigation found that the care provided by the GP Practice and the Health Board was reasonable and appropriate and consistent with accepted clinical practice. He did not uphold these aspects of Ms M’s complaint. The Ombudsman was however, critical about the Health Board’s tardiness in the handling of Ms M’s complaint and upheld this part of her complaint.
The Ombudsman recommended that the Health Board apologise to Ms M for the failure to respond to her initial complaint and the subsequent delay in complaint handling.