Miss T complained the care and treatment provided to her mother, Mrs Y, by Hywel Dda University Health Board. Miss T also complained about communication with herself, as a deaf carer, by the Health Board.
At the commencement of the investigation the Health Board agreed to issue a further letter to Miss T apologising and recognising the barriers she had faced as a deaf carer. It also agreed to provide an update to the Ombudsman on the actions it was taking to address these communication issues. The investigation therefore focused on the care and treatment provided to Mrs Y during 2 hospital admissions. This specifically considered if there was a lack of reasonable adjustments, taking into consideration Mrs Y’s cognitive impairment, including support with fluid intake and involvement of Miss T as a carer.
In response to the Ombudsman’s investigation the Health Board undertook a further investigation into the care provided to Mrs Y during the 2 hospital admissions. This identified failings in the care provided. The Health Board agreed to issue another complaint response to Miss T detailing its further investigation and apologising for the failings. It also agreed to include in the response detail of the actions it was undertaking to address these failings. The Ombudsman considered the actions the Health Board agreed to take were reasonable and discontinued the investigation on this basis.