Patient left in pain after hip operation

Mr F had a hip replacement operation. He complained of increasing pain in his thigh and buttock throughout the following night and asked for pain relief. This continued into the morning and Mr F's thigh became very swollen. He repeatedly asked nurses to arrange for a doctor to see him, and when he thought his concerns were not being taken seriously he phoned a colleague at a local hospital for help. The colleague then contacted the surgeon who had operated on Mr F. As the surgeon was working elsewhere, he asked an anaesthetist to arrange for another surgeon to review Mr F. The Matron saw Mr F at midday, and she asked the second surgeon to review him. After the review Mr F was taken back to theatre and a large haematoma (a clot of blood within tissues) was removed.

Mr F complained that staff had not recognised that he was developing compartment syndrome (a painful and potentially serious condition caused by bleeding or swelling in an enclosed bundle of muscle). He complained that the Matron lacked empathy and had stopped him seeing a doctor. He also complained that the hospital had not investigated his concerns robustly: staff had given inconsistent accounts and it had not got a written response from the doctor treating him.

What we found

We upheld some parts of Mr F's complaint.

Nurses did not manage Mr F's post-operative care in line with applicable standards. In particular, staff didn't examine his wound when they should; they didn't monitor the effectiveness of his pain relief; and they missed opportunities to arrange for a doctor to review Mr F and his medication. While we did not find that Mr F had suffered nerve damage as a result of these failings, he was in pain for longer than he would otherwise have been and clearly suffered anxiety and distress.

We found no fault with the Matron's behaviour towards him, nor with the way the hospital looked into his complaint.

Putting it right

The Trust apologised to Mr F for the distress it had caused him. It also drew up plans aimed at preventing the same mistakes happening again.