Health bosses in clear

Health chiefs have been exonerated following the death of a heart attack victim.

NHS Ayrshire & Arran were investigated by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman ( SPSO) after a complaint was raised against them by the dead man’s spouse.

However, the public services watchdog this week announced they did not uphold the complaint.

The SPSO did, however, welcome an apology from the organisation over ‘ communication issues’ with the spouse.

The complaint centred on the care and treatment provided to a patient, only known as ‘ A,’ who suffered a heart attack, was taken to hospital – before being transferred to another health board area.

Following treatment, A was transferred back to an Ayrshire and Arran hospital, but then suffered what was thought to be a “stroke event” and sadly died a week later.

The patient’s spouse, known only as ‘ C,’ complained about several aspects of A’s care, including that staff “did not tell them” what was happening with A and failed to advise them that A was in a coma.

The complainer also said that A’s health had improved at the other hospital and they understood that A was being moved to recuperate before being sent home.

In their report the SPSO said: “We took independent advice on the case from two advisers - a consultant cardiologist ( a doctor that specialises in diseases and abnormalities of the heart) and from a nurse.

“We found that the medical records showed staff gave regular updates about A’s condition and tried to be realistic about the likely outcome, while being supportive.

“We considered that there was evidence that staff kept C reasonably updated about A’s condition during the admission.”

The report goes on: “However, we welcomed the board’s apology that the communication did not meet C’s needs; this showed a sensitivity to the responsibility for ongoing learning and improvement to ensure communication is tailored to the needs of individuals and their families.”

The report added: “We considered that, overall, A’s care and treatment was reasonable and we did not uphold the complaint.”