An investigation has cleared staff at NHS Ayrshire & Arran from wrongdoing — after they were forced to restrain a patient so they could save their life.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) said the organisation’s treatment of the patient was of a “reasonable standard” and the likelihood of having to restrain them “had been anticipated.”
The case centres around a patient, known only as ‘C’, who raised a complaint about NHS Ayrshire & Arran.
It followed an incident during which they were restrained by staff to receive emergency treatment — when they experienced a life-threatening complication of their condition.
At the time, the patient was being detained under a compulsory treatment order by the board when the complication arose, necessitating their transfer to an acute hospital site.
In their investigation the SPSO said: “C complained about several aspects of this episode including the conduct of the staff when restraining them, the failure by the board to contact or seek appropriate consent for the treatment from their court-appointed welfare guardians, failure to maintain their privacy and dignity, and failure to tend to their comfort or basic hygiene needs.
“C also complained about the board’s suggestion that a pattern was emerging of them making unfounded complaints due to them previously complaining about a separate episode of care.”
The SPSO concluded: “We found that C’s treatment was of a reasonable standard. We noted that the emergency nature of C’s condition allowed treatment without their guardians’ consent, and the steps taken to ensure their privacy, dignity and comfort had been reasonable in the circumstances.
“On considering the conduct of staff during the episode of care, the likelihood of having to restrain C for treatment had been anticipated in advance and plans were made to do so in line with board-approved techniques. We did not uphold this aspect of C’s complaint.”
NHS Ayrshire & Arran were found culpable of being “unreasonable” in their handling of the complaint.
The SPSO said: “In respect of the board suggesting that there was a pattern emerging of C making unfounded complaints, we referred to the rights of patients outlined within The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 and the Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities.
“As this legislation ensures the rights of patients to complain or give feedback about their healthcare encounters, we considered the board’s response to C to be unreasonable. We upheld this part of C’s complaint.”
The SPSO said NHS Ayrshire & Arran should apologise to the patient for their ‘failing’ in relation to complaint handling.
Ruth McMurdo, interim deputy nurse director at the health board. said: “NHS Ayrshire & Arran takes all patients’ feedback, comments, concerns or complaints very seriously.
“In addition to our formal apology to C, we acknowledge the findings of the SPSO report which shows that the conduct of the staff when receiving acute emergency treatment were reasonable.
“We have addressed the issue highlighted to ensure our policies and procedures support the management of problem complainant behaviour.
“Concerns and complaints will be thoroughly investigated and the findings provided to the person or people involved.
“If we find that the care we have provided was not to the high standard we expect, we take action and ensure changes are implemented. In order to ensure learning across the organisation, we will share the findings from the report with staff.”
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