SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) decision

Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board - Acute Services Division

Decided 1 October 2021 Reference 201910303 Outcome: Not Upheld Sector: Health Category: Clinical treatment / diagnosis Body on this site: NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde

Themes assigned by this site (AI-generated): Clinical negligence harms learning, Inadequate Pre-Operative Risk Assessment

Full decision

Decision (the SPSO's words)

Summary

C complained that the board unreasonably carried out a biopsy after a mass was identified in C’s chest. C said due to the type of tumour it shouldn’t have been biopsied.

We took independent advice from a consultant physician and rheumatologist (a specialist in rheumatism, arthritis, and other disorders of the joints, muscles, and ligaments) and a consultant radiologist (a specialist in diagnosing and treating disease and injury through the use of medical imaging techniques such as x-rays and other scans).

We found that while the type of tumour should not have been biopsied, it was not identified as that type of tumour until after the biopsy and that was reasonable. We found that the decision to perform a biopsy was reasonable based on the information available at the time. As such, we did not uphold this complaint.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201910303 as a PDF (24.12 KB) Updated: October 20, 2021

From: SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman), decision 201910303, 1 October 2021