Investigation reports

A woman complained that nursing staff failed to meet her late mother’s personal hygiene needs while she was in hospital. She also complained about the Trust’s decision not to carry out a planned kidney operation.

A woman complained about the care provided by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust to her late father in his final weeks. We upheld parts of the complaint.

The Belfast Trust was right to perform an invasive test on an elderly patient but should have given him more information on its risks.

The daughter of an elderly cancer patient complained that her syringe driver was removed in the days before her death, causing her to experience unnecessary pain.

A man complained about the treatment he received for his fractured rib.  We did not uphold the complaint.

Our investigation found that a complainant was offered good support by the Belfast Trust during her treatment for Anorexia Nervosa.

A woman complained that the Belfast Trust did not properly investigate the cause of her father’s chest pains. She believed if it had done so he may not have died shortly after being discharged from hospital.

We found the Belfast Trust’s failure to ensure a patient was fit for surgery, and to consider other forms of treatment for his cancer, may have led to his untimely death.

The Belfast Trust told a woman it would not assess her son for ADHD until he was six years old. 

We found the Trust should have explained its reasons for not doing so more clearly, but acknowledged its timescale was a symptom of the wider demands currently placed on the health service. 

Nursing staff in the Belfast Trust provided appropriate care to a patient before he underwent elective vascular surgery. However, we found it of significant concern that the Trust failed to keep records of a discussion it had with him about the surgery’s risks.