The PCT
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Findings of the Health Service Ombudsman for England
In response to Mrs S’s complaint, the PCT commissioned an external review of its actions which was carried out by two senior clinicians from another Trust. I commend the PCT for its willingness to seek an independent, senior view on Mrs S’s complaint, and am content that it has confirmed that it will implement the resulting recommendations.
That report identified that it would have been appropriate for the dispute about funding Miss S’s treatment to have been brought to the attention of the PCT’s Chief Executive, and consideration given to the PCT funding Miss S’s in-patient treatment on an interim basis until the matter had been resolved. While the responsibility for funding Miss S’s treatment ultimately lay with HCW, I agree with the report’s authors that the PCT should have considered funding treatment in the short term to ensure that Miss S was not put at clinical risk. The PCT failed to do this. I conclude, therefore, that the PCT failed to provide a service to Miss S. That said, I am content that the PCT has agreed to implement the recommendations of its external review. I also recognise that the clinicians treating Miss S did all they reasonably could to expedite the funding request through contact with HCW and the Welsh Consultant. In view of the PCT’s failure to provide a service, and the consequent injustice and hardship outlined later in this report, I uphold the complaint against the PCT.
