NHS Tayside has been told to tighten its procedures after a complaint from the widow of a cancer victim.
The woman, referred to as Mrs C, asked the Scottish public services ombudsman to investigate concerns about the way her late husband was treated and the way her complaint was handled.
Her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006 and she believed there had been a series of failings leading up to his death.
These included him calling Ninewells Hospital for advice and being referred to his GP, who was unavailable as it was a weekend.
From spring 2007 her husband was complaining of rectal bleeding, which continued until he died. Mrs C said this was raised at every meeting with clinical staff but they suggested it was haemorrhoids.
In late 2008, the man was diagnosed with liver cancer and given hormone replacement therapy.
Mrs C said there was no coordinated plan for his treatment and that despite frequent requests for help there was no sense of urgency on the part of clinicians.
Mrs C added that by 2010 there was a dramatic decline in her husband’s condition and he was moved to Ninewells Hospital. The oncology and urology departments failed to work together, she alleged.
After her husband died, she raised these matters as a formal complaint. She said the time taken to deal with the complaint was too long and that the responses did not answer her concerns.
The ombudsman said: ”We fully upheld these complaints and also those about the care and treatment of her husband.
”We recommended that the board confirm the procedures for cover of absent consultant staff to ensure that continuity of care is maintained, remind oncology staff to involve urology staff in the management of catheterised patients, and highlight to the urology department that regular renal function measurement is required as part of the monitoring of patients.”