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Selected Investigations Completed April - September 1999 > Part I, Case no. E.678/98-99
Complaint against: A GP in the Barnsley Health Authority area
Summary of case
In January 1997 a man visited his GP complaining of a chest infection. The GP prescribed tablets to treat an ulcer. The man continued to feel unwell and the GP arranged for him to have blood and urine tests, an x-ray and an electrocardiogram. On receiving the results, the GP went to the patient's home and told him that he had cancer and might only have a few weeks to live. The man was later admitted to hospital and underwent further tests which did not detect cancer but did reveal pancytopenia (a reduction in all types of blood cells). The man's family believed that the shock of being given bad news caused the man to lose his will to live. On 27 August the man died. The cause of death was given as bronchopneumonia. The man's family complained that the doctor did not explain adequately to them why he had failed to treat the man's chest infection; had inappropriately prescribed medicine for his ulcer and had told him that he had cancer without first admitting him to hospital for confirmatory tests. The GP met the complainant informally to discuss her concerns; he later made a written formal response and attended a conciliation meeting.
Findings
The Ombudsman found that the GP had provided adequate and reasonable explanation of his treatment but that it was understandably difficult for the family to accept the explanations because of the complex clinical picture. The Ombudsman did not uphold the complaint.
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