A hospital failed to provide sufficient nursing care to a dying woman whose family had to keep her cool with wet paper towels in her final hours, a public standards watchdog ruled yesterday.
A hospital failed to provide sufficient nursing care to a dying woman whose family had to keep her cool with wet paper towels in her final hours, a public standards watchdog ruled yesterday.
Professor Alice Brown, Ombudsman for Scotland, found that Lanarkshire NHS Board failed on four separate counts in their treatment of the 76-year-old patient, known as Mrs A, after a catalogue of complaints was lodged by her daughter, Mrs C.
The case refers to the patient's stay at Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, between April and June 2005, where she was treated for terminal lung cancer.
The daughter complained that, on the day her mother died, the family had to try to keep her cool by dabbing her with wet paper towels, and that no nursing staff had offered to tend to the woman, who was running a temperature and whose face was said to be scarlet from overheating.
Professor Brown, in her monthly report published yesterday, said that the care and dignity of people in hospital, and in particular communication with their families, was a "recurring issue".
Professor Brown recommended to the health board that it should "reflect" on its approach to ensuring that families felt appropriately supported.
The Ombudsman also urged the health board to monitor compliance with the Medicines Code of Practice after she upheld a second complaint that the hospital failed to supervise Mrs A's drug-taking.
The patient was having trouble swallowing tablets and kept them in a handkerchief, asking her daughter to put them in the bin.
The Ombudsman also found that staff did not supervise Mrs A properly when she visited the toilet.
While four complaints were upheld, the Ombudsman rejected 13 others.
A spokeswoman for NHS Lanarkshire said: "We regret any instance where a patient or their family feels we have failed to provide the highest standard of care.
"We will study the report in detail and ensure that an action plan is drawn up to address the Ombudsman's recommendations."
