NHS Lanarkshire ordered to apologise after patient failings
Staff at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie sent the 78-year-old - who later died - home in a taxi in the middle of the night
NHS Lanarkshire has been ordered to apologise to the family of a woman who was sent home alone in a taxi and later died.
Staff at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie did not offer pain relief to the 78-year-old and also failed to spot unusual test results.
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Rosemary Agnew said she was ‘shocked’ by the hospital's actions.
The ombudsman’s report detailed how the woman in question suffered from a number of health issues.
The 78-year-old had been brought into the A&E department of Monklands around 10pm on 2 May 2016 after complaining of abdominal pain and vomiting.
But staff sent the woman home just hours later after doctors diagnosed gastroenteritis.
Employees failed to offer her any pain relief.
The woman’s husband found her distressed and in pain at their front door after a taxi dropped her off in her night clothes in the early hours of the morning.
She died on 5 May from ischaemic and valvular heart disease.
The record-keeping by two different doctors who saw her – as well as the assessment of the patient – fell below a reasonable standard, according to the ombudsman.
Mrs Agnew said: "Had a more senior doctor overseen Mrs C's care and due attention been given to this test result, Mrs C may have been admitted to hospital for a period of in-patient care which may have avoided her death.
"Although we cannot definitively say that Mrs C's death was avoidable due to the post mortem having shown severe triple vessel coronary artery atheroma and valvular heart disease, there was strong evidence that it may have been."
The ombudsman – stating that she was ‘shocked’ that the situation had even occurred – has made six recommendations to improve how patients are looked after and discharged.
She also ordered the health board to apologise.
Dr Jane Burns, NHS Lanarkshire acute divisional medical director, said: "We regret any instance where we fail to provide the highest standards of care for our patients and we will contact the complainant directly to offer our sincere apologies for the failings identified in the report.
"We have fully accepted the recommendations within the ombudsman's report and will develop an action plan to address them.