The investigation focused on whether Ms A’s waiting time for gallbladder surgery was appropriately managed in line with the Welsh Government’s Rules for Managing Referral to Treatment Waiting Times (“the RTT”), specifically whether Ms A was appropriately removed from the surgical waiting list in December 2023.
The investigation found that, without her knowledge, Ms A had been removed from the waiting list for gallbladder surgery as she was deemed unfit for surgery. The failure to tell her about this decision constituted maladministration as this was contrary to the RTT. There was also a missed opportunity to identify when Ms A might have been fit for surgery as there had been no follow-up to check on her fitness to proceed. The impact of these failings meant that Ms A was not aware of her removal from the waiting list for a considerable time, which also resulted in a considerably longer wait for surgery for Ms A. The complaint was upheld.
The Health Board agreed to apologise to Ms A for the administrative errors, arrange training around the updated RTT guidance, and carry out an audit of its surgery waiting list to ensure that gallbladder surgery patients removed from the waiting list during a specified period have been informed of their removal in line with the RTT requirements.