NHS Tayside has apologised to a patient after medics failed to diagnose her hip infection for five years, affecting her ability to walk and do everyday tasks.
The woman, known only as Mrs A to protect patient confidentiality, suffered a total hip replacement failure as a result of the “deep-seated infection”.
An advocacy worker made a complaint on her behalf, citing an unreasonable delay in diagnosing the infection, with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman upholding the grievance.
The woman first started having hip pain in 2012 following her right hip replacement surgery, which led to reduced mobility.
An investigation report by the SPSO stated: “Despite various orthopaedic reviews and investigations over the following five years, no underlying cause was identified for her pain.
“In mid-2017, Ms A’s symptoms suddenly worsened and she experienced total right hip replacement failure.
“Ms A was referred for further surgery and a deep-seated infection was found in her right hip joint.
“We found that there was a failure to properly investigate Ms A for a hip infection over a period of five years, in light of her symptoms.
“We found that concerning and obvious changes were apparent to Ms A’s hip in her x-rays taken in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
“However, these changes were missed in her orthopaedic reviews. We found that when the changes in her 2017 x-rays were subsequently identified, there was an unreasonable delay in offering her an orthopaedics review as she waited over three months to be seen.
“We were critical that the board’s investigation did not identify and/or acknowledge the significant failings in the care provided to Ms A.”
The SPSO took independent advice from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and made recommendations to NHS Tayside, advising the board to apologise to the patient, as well as ensure that in future, patients with infection symptoms are thoroughly investigated.
Further recommendations included ensuring that orthopaedic x-rays are appropriately reported, hospital tests carefully reviewed and orthopaedics reviews carried out in a timely manner.
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “We have apologised to the patient and are taking actions to address the recommendations in the report.”
