Mrs A had complained to the Health Board about the care provided to her young child by the Neurodevelopment Team at Wrexham Maelor Hospital. She had also raised concerns with the Health Board via her local MS. The Health Board treated Mrs A’s concerns as an enquiry and responded to those in a letter to the MS.
The Ombudsman was of the view that the Health Board should have investigated and responded to Mrs A’s concerns under the PTR arrangements, instead of treating her concerns as an enquiry. That was maladministration and an injustice to Mrs A.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Health Board’s agreement to investigate and respond, in accordance with the PTR arrangements, to Mrs A’s concerns and to apologise for failing to do that in the first instance. It also agreed to offer Mrs A a payment of £250 to reflect the time and trouble she had been put to in pursuing this matter and for initially denying her an investigation and response under the PTR arrangements. The Health Board agreed to undertake these steps within 3 months.