Summary
Mrs C complained about the treatment which she received at A&E of Raigmore Hospital following a fall where she bumped her head and suffered hearing problems. The staff believed the hearing loss would be temporary and discharged her home. However, Mrs C's hearing loss continued over a number of months and she attended her GP on a number of occasions. A referral was made to the ear, nose and throat department (ENT) where a hearing aid was fitted. Mrs C believed that she should have been referred to ENT specialists at the time of the A&E attendance.
We took independent advice from a consultant in emergency medicine. We found that staff at A&E carried out appropriate investigations at the time of Mrs C's attendance and that it was reasonable to suspect the hearing loss would be temporary. There was no clinical indication for an immediate referral to ENT and advice was given to attend her GP should the symptoms not resolve. We did not uphold the complaint.
Related reading
View Decision Report 201909131 as a PDF (24.19 KB) Updated: July 22, 2020