Mr A complained about an equipment malfunction (cannula detachment) during eye surgery which caused him to require further treatment. He was concerned that the Health Board’s formal response to his complaint gave general information about the procedure. It did not contain any specific detail of the action taken in his case, nor any reference to the content of his medical records.
Having considered the complaint, the Ombudsman noted that the Health Board’s complaint response should have been specific to what happened in Mr A’s case and referred to the content of his medical records. The Health Board agreed to carry out the following action within 4 weeks: Provide a further complaint response to Mr A, specific to the procedure as documented in his clinical records. This should include detailing what happened during the procedure, the action taken to mitigate the known risks and who was present when the procedure was undertaken.