Case summaries

These short, anonymised stories show the profound impact that failures in public services can have on the lives of individuals and their families.

Please note we have not published any new case summaries on this page since 2015. In April 2021 we began publishing our casework decision statements and investigation reports on our decisions portal.

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Podiatrists' failure to identify circulation problems did not lead to patient's death

Summary 62 | March 2014

Mr S complained that podiatrists did not identify his wife's circulation problems and refer her to a vascular consultant quickly enough. He also complained that his wife did not get appropriate care when she was admitted to hospital with a dying foot.

Unnecessary kidney surgery led to bowel damage and infections that plagued patient for final 20 months

Summary 61 | March 2014

Failure to accurately diagnose recurrent ovarian cancer led to surgery to remove Mrs P's kidney when she should have received chemotherapy.

Hospital failed to treat patient appropriately when his condition became unstable in operating theatre

Summary 60 | March 2014

Mr A had a cardiac event after being anaesthetised for surgery. He was not treated appropriately and the hospital failed to acknowledge failings in his care.

Trust failed to diagnose and treat child's epilepsy

Summary 59 | March 2014

Miss K complained that the Trust failed to investigate her daughter J's symptoms, and this led to a delay in the diagnosis and treatment of her epilepsy. Miss K said that J was only diagnosed and treated 11 months later at another hospital.

Delay in prescribing medication caused distress

Summary 58 | March 2014

Mr Q, who had epilepsy and other medical conditions, experienced a delay in receiving his epilepsy medication when he went into the prison.

No evidence that GP failed to diagnose child's fracture

Summary 57 | March 2014

Mrs K wanted a GP to acknowledge that he should have sent her daughter for an X-ray.

No evidence of mistake during brain surgery

Summary 56 | March 2014

Mr A developed a loss of sensation in his hand. He believed this was caused by an anaesthetist failing to protect his arms while he was having brain surgery.

Trust failed to apologise for patient's six-hour wait in A&E without food or drink

Summary 55 | March 2014

After he arrived in A&E with an eye infection, Mr B was not offered food or drink. He also complained that staff were rude to him. The Trust's complaint handling did not address his complaint.

Hospital delayed transferring an older patient for X-ray after fall

Summary 54 | March 2014

Mr L complained that his mother, Mrs L, had a fall in hospital due to a lack of supervision. He also complained that staff failed to diagnose the resulting fracture in a timely manner and this caused additional suffering and damage. Furthermore, Mr L complained that his mother was transferred in a taxi rather than an ambulance.

Delay by dentist in referring patient to hospital caused unnecessary pain and distress

Summary 53 | March 2014

Mr T had a lump in his mouth. He visited the dentist, who said that he would refer Mr T to a specialist. However, the dentist failed to send the referral form. This led to delays in Mr T being seen by a specialist. He was subsequently diagnosed with cancer.