Ms A complained that Cwm Taff Morgannwg University Health Board (“the Health Board”) failed to investigate and respond to all aspects of her concerns about her mother’s care and treatment, and that its complaint response contained inaccuracies. Ms A said that contrary to the Health Board’s complaint response, she was not given the opportunity to confirm the list of questions compiled by the Health Board, before they were submitted for investigation. Ms A was unhappy with some of the questions that were investigated, as they differed from her original complaint.
The Ombudsman decided that although the Health Board said the questions were verbally agreed with Ms A, without providing her with a written copy of the questions, there was no definitive evidence that she agreed to the final questions submitted for investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Health Board’s agreement to offer Ms A an apology for not providing her with the opportunity to confirm the final questions in writing, to remind relevant staff of the importance of confirming the complaint/questions with complainants in writing before submission for investigation, and to offer Ms A the opportunity to clarify her outstanding concerns in writing within twenty working days. The Health Board agreed to provide a complaint response to the established outstanding concerns within three months.