NHS Fife has been asked to pay a grieving widow the benefits her dying husband lost due to a delay.
The Fife woman, known only as Mrs C, complained to the Scottish ombudsman that a nurse delayed making a referral for a benefit claim on behalf of her late husband when he was diagnosed as terminally ill.
The nurse specialised in palliative care and visited the couple at their home.
During a conversation she said she would make a referral to another agency, which could take his benefit claim forward but there was a delay of several weeks before the claim was processed and Mrs C said her husband lost a month’s benefits because of this.
Mrs C believed the nurse’s delay in making the referral was the reason for the payment setback.
NHS Fife told the ombudsman that community specialist palliative care nurses were not responsible for submitting benefits claims for patients but can help by signposting patients or contacting the agency, which would progress the claim.
The nurse had said she contacted the agency a week after discussing the matter with the couple there was a note in her diary which suggested she had contacted them but that was not conclusive evidence.
The agency said it did not receive the referral until a month after the initial discussion between the nurse and the couple.
They took the claim forward and, in line with legislation, awarded benefits from the date they said they had received the referral.
On balance, the ombudsman found insufficient evidence to decide it was definitely the nurse who delayed the process.
However, the ombudsman did recognise that Mr C had lost more than three weeks’ benefit through no fault of his own and that had caused him some distress before his death.
He made two recommendations to the NHS to award Mrs C payment for 50% of the sum her husband missed out on and provide an update on action being taken to prevent this problem recurring.
Professor Scott McLean, executive director of nursing at NHS Fife, said: “Although this particular complaint has not been upheld by the SPSO, we have noted the recommendations and will take time to ensure they are carefully considered.”