Ms X complained that the Health Board failed to appropriately deal with her complaint about a GP Practice in it’s area. The Health Board failed to provide a response to the concerns she had raised.
The Ombudsman found that the issue with the GP practice was initially raised with the Health Board in a complaint letter in July 2020,and referred to in later correspondence. Although there were various discussions between the Health Board and Ms X in relation to other concerns raised, this aspect of the complaint was not discussed or addressed. A formal complaint response had not been provided. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Health Board agreed to, within one month, provide Ms X with a written apology for its failure to provide a complaint response, and provide Ms X with a complaint response in respect of this aspect of her complaint, within two months.
The Ombudsman’s view was that the above action was reasonable to settle Ms X’s complaint.