NHS Tayside has been advised to apologise to a patient who staff failed to spot had suffered a stroke following a procedure.
The patient awoke from the procedure at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee and reported “a painful, tingling sensation” in their mouth, left hand and foot, according to a report published by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO).
A consultant carried out an assessment but the patient was deemed fit for discharge as “no clinical concerns were identified”, the report said.
However the patient’s symptoms persisted after their release and it was only after they decided to go and see a GP the following morning they found out they had suffered a stroke.
The SPSO report, which identified the patient only as C, went on: “C complained that the board’s staff unreasonably failed to identify that they had had a stroke following their procedure.
“We found that, whilst staff identified that C’s symptoms indicated they may have had a stroke and an assessment was carried out with this in mind, the assessment was insufficiently detailed and, in light of C’s presenting symptoms, further investigation by a neurologist ... should have been arranged.
“Therefore, we upheld the complaint.”
The SPSO recommended the board apologise to the patient, invite clinical staff involved in the case to reflect on it and consider where improvements could be made in their practice to ensure symptoms of strokes are “adequately investigated” as soon as possible in future.
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: “We are sorry that treatment and care in this case fell below the standard we would expect.
“We have apologised to the patient and a plan is in place to action the recommendations.”
