Mr B complained that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board had failed to respond to the complaint he had made to it in July 2023 about the care and treatment provided to his late uncle. Mr B also complained that the Health Board had lost the consent form he hand-delivered to it in August 2023.
The Ombudsman found that the Health Board had misplaced the consent form and informed Mr B that its investigation of the complaint had been put on hold as there was no consent for him to act for his late uncle. The Health Board subsequently found the consent form in February 2024. The Ombudsman said the error in misplacing the consent form and subsequent delay in responding to the complaint caused frustration to Mr B.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Health Board’s agreement to apologise to Mr B, explain to him what steps it had taken to ensure errors relating to hand-delivered complaint information do not reoccur, offer Mr B a £50 redress payment and to issue the complaint response within 6 weeks.