Summary
Ms C injured her shoulder and attended the emergency department where she was assessed and referred to a fracture clinic. Following the appointment at the fracture clinic, it was decided the injury should be treated conservatively. At a further follow-up appointment, it was decided that Ms C should be referred for surgery. The local orthopaedic surgeon (a specialist in the treatment of diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system) was unavailable and it was agreed that Ms C should wait until a specialist orthopaedic surgeon was available. Ms C complained that the board unreasonably delayed in performing the surgery.
We took independent advice form an orthopaedic surgeon. We found that it was reasonable that the injury was treated conservatively in the first instance and that they waited until a specialist surgeon was available. Ms C's outcome would have been affected not by the delay, but if the surgery was not performed by a specialist. Therefore, we did not uphold Ms C's complaint.
Related reading
View Decision Report 201804224 as a PDF (23.79 KB) Updated: February 20, 2019