Clinical treatment in hospital : Swansea Bay University Health Board

Ms A’s complaint related to the care and treatment that she received from the Health Board’s Dermatology Department in 2021. Specifically, she complained that the Health Board failed to properly investigate and diagnose the cause of her hair loss and skin problems, and that it also failed to provide appropriate treatment for these symptoms.

The Ombudsman concluded that Ms A’s symptoms had been appropriately investigated, managed and diagnosed by the Health Board. In this respect, although the Health Board’s dermatologists had considered Ms A’s concerns about the cause of her symptoms, the Health Board’s eventual working diagnosis of telogen effluvium (telogen effluvium occurs when there is a marked increase in the number of hairs shed each day) was reasonable. The investigation also found no evidence to suggest that the Health Board had failed to provide appropriate treatment for Ms A’s symptoms. As a result, the Ombudsman did not uphold the complaint.