Investigation reports

A complainant said that if the South Eastern Health Trust had carried out a proper healthcare assessment it might have been responsible for paying her mother’s nursing home fees . 

We investigated concerns about how a Health Trust dealt with allegations of an intimate relationship between two care home residents.

Our report criticised the Trust for not doing a more thorough investigation into the claims, and asked it to carry out an audit of previous safeguarding referrals.

A patient complained that if a cyst had been diagnosed earlier she could have avoided a painful procedure to have it drained.     

A parent who acted as a carer for her son with special needs complained that a six-month delay in her family being allocated a social worker impacted her financially and mentally.

We upheld the complaint but found no evidence of bias against the parent by the Trust. 

The Lagan Valley Hospital carried out reasonable and appropriate investigations to determine the source of a patient’s abdominal pain.

A woman whose autistic daughter needed constant care and attention complained that the lack of a dedicated social worker left her feeling ‘isolated and let down’. We upheld the complaint, but recognised the difficult position faced by the health trust over a prolonged period which contributed to the failures.

Our investigation found that the GP Practice properly managed the patient’s medication, and that it made appropriate referrals for further testing.

A man who accidentally splashed a dangerous chemical in his eye should have been checked more thoroughly when he went to the Ulster Hospital.