If you are looking for the best medical negligence claims Cheshire has to offer, you will find the latest recommendations form the Scottish medical ombudsman interesting.
The Scottish Health Board has called the treatment of a patient with Alzheimer’s as being “inadequate” and that her experience was "unsatisfactory and disappointing", the BBC reported.
The discussion of the case took place after the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO) upheld a series of complaints in relation to the woman's treatment in a hospital run by NHS Dumfries and Galloway.
Consent procedures for the patient, who was noted to have arrived in a confused state were not adequately carried out, the report found. Treatment was delayed several times for the elderly woman as consent had not been obtained. She was kept fasting before the treatment, but as this was repeatedly delayed her fluid intake was also not adequately monitored.
Staff communication was found to be inadequate during the woman’s admission which exacerbated the situation, the ombudsman found.
The Trust has been advised to review its record keeping procedures following the incident, as well as audit the ward’s compliance with malnutrition universal screening tool.
An apology for the family of the woman affected was also demanded by the ombudsman.
Recent discussion of medical negligence claims has seen calls for doctors to be forced to apologise to patients that are harmed as a result of negligence or mistakes.
The ‘Apologies Bill’ as it has been termed will call on doctors to let patients know when a mistake has been made and the potential harm done as soon as possible.