Ms X complained that the Health Board had not responded to the complaint she had submitted in November 2019 about her sister’s treatment in hospital.
Shortly after the complaint was submitted to the Ombudsman, the Health Board did finally respond to Ms X, with its written response including an offer of financial redress in respect of the acknowledged failings in care. However, the Ombudsman found that the handling of the complaint had been inadequate in terms of timeliness and communication with the complainant about the delay in responding. The Ombudsman asked the Health Board to provide Ms X with a written apology for its poor complaint handling, together with a payment of £250 in recognition of the avoidable time and trouble to which she had been put. The Health Board agreed to do so within 10 working days. The Ombudsman considered this a suitable settlement and did not investigate.