A DISTRICT nurse is facing disciplinary action over allegations that they walked out on a terminally ill patient who was "dead or dying".

The nurse, who has not been named, has been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council following complaints from the man's wife.

Details of the case emerged after the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) upheld the family's complaint and criticised the handling of the case.

However, the SPSO has not named the health board where the incident occurred and it is unknown whether the nurse is male or female. The SPSO said the "sensitive nature of the complaint" meant it could not disclose any details that would risk identifying the individuals involved.

In its report into the case, the SPSO said that the man had been receiving end-of-life care at home when his wife went out "expecting a visit from a district nurse to take place in her absence".

However, she returned later to find her husband "deceased and in an inappropriate position".

She complained to the health board that the nurse "had left the property whilst [her husband] Mr A was dying or after he was dead".

Although the nurse "denied strongly having left Mr A in an inappropriate condition", an internal investigation concluded that the nurse "had breached professional guidelines".

However, the family later complained to the SPSO over the handling of the investigation, which included an "extended and unexplained delay" and a failure to interview key family members.

The SPSO upheld the complaint and also concluded that the nurses's actions "fell below acceptable professional standards".

The report said: "We found that although it was not possible to determine exactly what took place, the likelihood was that the nurse performed some form of treatment on Mr A.

"There was no suggestion this had contributed to his death, but the weight of the evidence pointed to Mr A being left in an inappropriate condition by the nurse."

The SPSO recommended that the nurse should be referred to the NMC over alleged misconduct.

A spokeswoman for the SPSO confirmed that the health board had now done so.