The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) have published their investigation report into the care of a patient at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. The full report is available to view on the SPSO website at:
https://www.spso.org.uk/investigation-reports/2023/december/fife-nhs-board
Medical Director, Dr Chris McKenna, said:
“Healthcare staff in Fife work tirelessly in their efforts to provide patients with the best possible quality of care. While the vast majority of the care we provide is of a very high standard, we accept that errors were made in this case, and we have apologised to the patient involved.
“As the Ombudsman acknowledges in their report, Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT) is unpredictable, and the symptoms reported in this case occur only infrequently with this condition. While ruling out other serious conditions was initially deemed to be the immediate clinical priority, we accept that opportunities were missed that could have enabled the cause to be identified sooner. We also note the acceptance within the report that the condition is difficult to treat even when recognised early and that initiating an alternative treatment sooner may not have fully worked.
“We constantly strive to provide patients with the safest and most effective care possible and recognise the importance of learning from this case. A series of actions have already been taken following our own local review to prevent such an incident from being repeated in future. The recommendations of the Ombudsman are also in the process of being implemented in full.”
