X-ray apology by health board
NHS Tayside has said sorry to a patient its staff decided not to X-ray when they attended Perth Royal Infirmary ( PRI) with an knee injury that went on to trouble them for at least another six months.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) advised the board to apologise to the patient after finding clinicians ought to have arranged an X-ray to get to the bottom of what was causing their pain when they first presented at the Taymount Terrace hospital.
The body also advised the board to ensure its workers stick more rigidly to “the Ottawa knee rule” in future after partially upholding the patient’s complaints about their overall treatment.
The SPSO’s decision report, which referred to the patient only as C, said they were initially diagnosed with a soft tissue/tendon strain and advised to see their GP for a follow up.
The report went on: “C said that their knee did not settle and attended the hospital again six months later. C was then told that they had a meniscal tear. As their condition did not improve, C underwent an operation.
“C said that they experienced no relief following the operation and their GP made a further referral to orthopaedics. They were advised that further surgery would be unlikely to help and, therefore, there was no clinical reasons to operate further.
“C complained about the care and treatment they were given by the board. C said that there was a delay in providing appropriate treatment and diagnosis, that their care was poor and that the board did not deal reasonably with their complaints about this.
“The board said that C’s initial care and treatment had been appropriate and although they were aware of C’s view that they should have been X-rayed when they first attended the hospital, to have done so would not have shown the subsequent diagnosis they received.
“The board added that scans and X-rays were not routinely carried out for knee injuries and that C had been given appropriate advice.
“We took independent advice from consultants in emergency medicine and in orthopaedics. We found that, overall, C’s care and treatment had been reasonable.
“However, there was a failure to carry out an X-ray when they first attended hospital which was contrary to accepted guidance regarding when an X-ray of a knee should be undertaken following trauma.
“For this reason, the complaint was upheld.”
An NHS Tayside spokesperson commented: “We have actioned the recommendations in the report and have apologised to the patient.”