Clinical treatment in hospital : Aneurin Bevan University Health Board

Ms X complained about care provided to her mother, Mrs Y, following her attendance for a bronchoscopy on 20 April 2021 and specifically whether:
• the bronchoscopy was carried out appropriately
• Mrs Y received appropriate after-care following the procedure, in particular, whether the decision to discontinue her antibiotics on 24 May was reasonable.
The Ombudsman found that Mrs Y’s bronchoscopy was performed to a reasonable standard and that the risk of infection was indicated to Mrs Y on the consent form prior to the procedure. The Ombudsman found that the resulting appointments Mrs Y had with the Health Board provided appropriate after-care. The failure to start antibiotics on 26 April and not continuing antibiotics beyond 24 May were reasonable decisions that were, sadly, unlikely to have changed the course of events in this case. The complaint was not upheld.