Summary
Mrs C complained that the medical practice failed to provide appropriate care and treatment to her late husband (Mr A), who died in hospital of double pneumonia a few days after last seeing a GP. She said that her husband had seen a GP on two occasions before the hospital admission and that the GP had not carried out appropriate assessments to diagnose the pneumonia or to have referred her husband to hospital for a specialist opinion.
We took independent advice from an adviser in general practice medicine and concluded that the practice had provided a reasonable level of care. The records showed that the GP had carried out appropriate assessments and that, based on the symptoms which Mr A had reported, it was reasonable for the GP to have diagnosed a viral illness. The GP had advised Mr A to rest, take fluids and paracetamol. It was clear that, following the last GP appointment, Mr A's symptoms had changed and that he had deteriorated and at that time a hospital referral was appropriate. We did not uphold the complaint.
Related reading
View Decision Report 201703479 as a PDF (11.1 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018