The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Autism assessment complaint upheld
NHS Fife taken to task over delays in autism spectrum disorder assessment
NHS Fife waiting times for autism assessments have come under fire for a second time.
A Fife mother complained about errors which led to delays in an autism spectrum disorder assessment for her child.
The woman, known only as Mrs C complained to the Scottish Ombudsman about a range of administrative errors in the process which led to significant delays.
She also said the board unreasonably tried to transfer the youngster’s care to a different health board, because they moved to a new school outside the Fife area.
NHS Fife upheld her complaint and apologised for administration errors, acknowledging it was responsible for the assessment, rather than another health board.
The board also told her the waiting time for assessment was “unacceptable” and said a new pathway was being introduced to improve this.
However, the mother remained dissatisfied and took her complaint to the ombudsman which found NHS Fife did not process the child’s referral in line with its own guidance, including failing to follow up paperwork sent to the family.
It also failed to arrange a planned follow-up appointment with a paediatrician.
The investigation said the attempt to transfer child A outside the board’s area was unreasonable, as staff should have been aware they were responsible for all children living in Fife, regardless of schooling.
The ombudsman said while NHS Fife had acknowledged some failings, its response to Mrs C had not given a clear and full apology for all the issues.
Action taken to improve waiting times and communication was appropriate, the probe found, but concerns were raised as the ombudsman had made similar findings about the delay in an ASD assessment in 2014.
“While the board took action following that case to reduce waiting times, these appeared to have extended again significantly,” he said.
He asked to see evidence of action the board was taking to cut waiting times.
Director of nursing Helen Wright said: “NHS Fife strives to provide the highest standard of care to all patients and we take all instances where such standards have not been met very seriously.
“We accept that in this case we did not provide the standard of care our patients should expect and as such we note the ombudsman’s report and accept the recommendations made within it.
“The board has apologised to the family involved and we welcome the opportunity to do so publicly.”
While the board took action following that case to reduce waiting times, these appeared to have extended again