Miss A complained about the care provided to her mother for her mental ill-health, particularly that no care co-ordinator was provided, appropriate treatment was not offered and her medication was mismanaged. She also said that the Health Board failed to communicate effectively with her and her mother, and failed to address the concerns she had raised with the Patient Liaison Service (“PALS”).
The Ombudsman noted that Miss A’s complaints were often resolved by PALS ensuring that promised appointments and reviews were provided, or requesting return telephone calls from the service area. However, the pattern of her complaints, which were all similar, overlapping and related to the same issues over an extended period of time, was not recognised by the Health Board. The Ombudsman found that this should have been looked at more closely and that Miss A’s complaints should have been considered through the Health Board’s formal complaint process to ensure that Miss A’s concerns were appropriately resolved, and that she was informed about the outcomes of any actions taken to address them.
The Health Board agreed to contact Miss A within 1 month, to apologise that her concerns had not been resolved, confirm her ongoing and unresolved issues, and begin a formal investigation into them. It also agreed to complete the investigation into Miss A’s concerns within the relevant timescales stipulated in the formal complaints process.