HSE complaint inquiry inadequate

The Health Service Executive has accepted, on foot of an investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman, that it it did not deal thoroughly with a complaint made by a woman in the west about her treatment by doctors.

The Ombudsman's report says that the woman had complained about her post-operative care in hospital following surgery for breast cancer and about how her concerns had been handled by the HSE (Western Area).

The patient said that she had not been seen by either the surgeon or his senior team for five days after her operation.

The surgeon maintained that she had been seen every day by his senior team.

The report says that the woman had been dissatisfied with an initial written report from the HSE and later complained directly to the chief executive of the HSE in the west. It says the HSE had written to her outlining the points made by the surgeon, which reflected his initial comments.

"The Ombudsman was not happy about the way the HSE had investigated the matter. There was no evidence that the patient/hospital records had been examined, or that personnel involved in the complainant's post-operative care had been interviewed either in the investigation or reinvestigation of the complaint.

In fact, it was only after she had contacted the HSE's CEO that the records were examined. It appeared that there were some direct conflicts of evidence in relation to the attendance by the surgical team which could only be reconciled by the HSE's investigation team conducting its own examination of the issues."

The report states that the HSE had apologised.