NHS board sorry for delays in care of cancer death woman

A HEALTH board have apologised for “unreasonable delays” in the treatment of a woman who died of cancer.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) identified “significant failings” in how the case was handled by the Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS board acute services.

The unnamed woman’s husband complained about her care and treatment after a diagnosis of bladder cancer in April 2015. It related to delays in vital appointments and in treating the cancer after she suffered a heart attack in July that year.

The cancer was found to have spread to the woman’s lungs in February 2016 and she died in May last year.

An SPSO probe found there were “unreasonable delays” between appointments, a delay in the woman being treated and “failings” in communication between specialists.

But the SPSO concluded it was likely the woman would still have died as the disease progression was likely to have already occurred by December 2015.

The health board said they accepted recommendations made by the ombudsman and were taking action.

Meanwhile, the SPSO have told a health board to apologise to a car crash victim for “multiple failings” in his treatment on August 20 last year, including risking his paralysis by not disgnosing a spine fracture.

The patient was treated at Balfour Hospital in Orkney but was not given a spine X-ray despite complaining of back pain, a probe found.

NHS Orkney chief executive Cathie Cowan said: “I am very sorry and fully accept Mr A did not receive appropriate treatment.”