Summary
C complained that the board failed to provide reasonable physiotherapy care and treatment to their child (A) and failed to maintain reasonable clinical records.
We took independent advice from a physiotherapist. We found that some aspects of A’s care were reasonable, particularly in relation to ongoing treatment at school, and the adjusting of equipment and personal care access was in line with normal practice. However, it was unreasonable that no paediatric physiotherapy programme was provided and delegated to school staff initially to support classroom and curriculum access and that clinical notes only mentioned a programme taught to support staff in school following the change in physiotherapist. Therefore, we upheld this part of C’s complaint.
In relation to the clinical records, we found that there were omissions in the completion of documentation and poor physiotherapy clinical record keeping. Therefore, we upheld this part of C’s complaint.
C also complained about the board’s handling of their complaint. We found that the board’s actions in relation to the handling of C’s complaint were reasonable and did not uphold this part of C’s complaint. We also noted that the board had taken learning and improvement action which we welcomed.
Recommendations
What we asked the organisation to do in this case: Apologise to C for the failings identified. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at www.spso.org.uk/information-leaflets.
What we said should change to put things right in future: Clinical notes should be comprehensive as set out by the Charted Society of Physiotherapy (CSP)/Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC) standards and include action plans. Senior managers should be aware of their role in relation to monitoring the quality of record keeping (in line with the Records Management Code of Practice).
We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.
Related reading
View Decision Report 202302196 as a PDF (26.48 KB) Updated: November 20, 2024