Ms L complained that the Health Board failed to take adequate measures to protect her husband, a patient at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, from contracting the disease. Ms L also complained that the Health Board failed to carry out a full and thorough investigation of her complaint and did not acknowledge that her husband was likely to have contracted COVID-19 in hospital. She also complained that when she requested copies of her husband’s records and copies of guidelines referred to in the Health Board’s complaint response, there was a delay in the records being provided; the records provided were incomplete and the guidelines requested were not included; and that it appeared that a copy of the records had been sent to the wrong address.
We contacted the Health Board which agreed, within 6 months, to review Ms L’s case in accordance with the nationally agreed process for investigating nosocomial COVID-19 infections (infections caught through the delivery of healthcare). We found that there appeared to be evidence of maladministration in the Health Board’s handling of Ms L’s request for her husband’s records. To settle this aspect of the complaint, the Health Board agreed, within 1 month, to: • Apologise to Ms L for these failings.
• Pay her financial redress of £250 to reflect the inconvenience and anxiety caused as a result of her having reason to believe the records had been sent to the wrong address.
In the light of these agreed actions the investigation was brought to a close.