Mrs D complained about several aspects of her mother's, care and treatment following surgery to repair a rectal prolapse (when part of the rectum protrudes through the anus). Mrs D said she believed poor care and treatment had led to her mother's avoidable death, and that poor communication denied the family the chance to prepare themselves for her death.
Mrs C, in her early seventies, was admitted to hospital for surgery to repair a rectal prolapse. Her condition significantly deteriorated after surgery and she died nearly three weeks later. Mrs D, her daughter, complained to the Trust about many aspects of her care and treatment. She said surgery had been delayed and no information had been given about its risks; the dose of anaesthetic was miscalculated, causing pain; the surgery caused bleeding and kidney failure; and doctors continued to give blood thinning medication even though she developed a bleed. Mrs D also said that the Trust should have transferred Mrs C to a High Dependency Unit after surgery; staff did not act when her condition deteriorated; staff should have moved her to intensive care earlier; she was moved to several different wards; she developed severe bruising on her arm; she received poor hydration, pressure area care and personal hygiene care; and staff did not communicate her deterioration to her family.
What we found
Our investigation established that Mrs C's care and treatment was generally in line with relevant standards and established good practice except in the pressure area care it gave her. There was no documented evidence that staff discussed Mrs C's condition or deterioration with her family until just before her admission to intensive care. Better communication earlier on would have given the family an opportunity to better prepare themselves for the possibility that Mrs C might not survive.
Although we did not find that Mrs C's death was avoidable, both she and Mrs D had suffered an injustice because of service failures. We therefore partly upheld Mrs D's complaint.
Putting it right
The Trust wrote to Mrs D to acknowledge its poor communication and poor pressure area care and apologised for the impact this had. It also explained how it would improve communication and pressure area care in future.
Organisation
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
Case reference
195366
Complainant's concerns about complaint handling
None
Result
Apology
Recommendation to learn lessons or draw up an action plan
Location
Greater Manchester
Region
North West
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
Greater Manchester
Apology
Recommendation to learn lessons or draw up an action plan