Patient developed sepsis after being discharged from hospital without adequate follow-up treatment

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been ordered to apologise to a patient after they developed sepsis and required surgery to remove their spleen following treatment for a kidney infection.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) found failings in the follow-up treatment provided to the patient, who was readmitted to hospital around five weeks after being discharged.

The patient, referred to as C in the report, had initially been admitted to hospital for treatment for a renal abscess, a collection of pus caused by an infection in the kidney.

They complained to the Ombudsman about their care and treatment, including the decision to discharge them from hospital.

‘Inadequate and unreasonable’

Following an investigation, the SPSO sought independent advice from a consultant urologist.

The urologist’s advice found that the decision to discharge the patient was reasonable and in line with best practice and clinical guidelines.

However, the Ombudsman upheld the complaint about the follow-up outpatient treatment provided by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Acute Services Division.

The report found that the patient had been prescribed antibiotics for only two weeks, without evidence from kidney imaging to confirm their condition had improved.

It concluded that the treatment was “both inadequate and unreasonable”.

Around five weeks after being discharged, the patient was readmitted to hospital with sepsis and subsequently required surgery to have their spleen removed.

The SPSO said patients with renal abscesses require regular imaging alongside antibiotic treatment to assess whether their condition is improving.

It said antibiotics should continue until imaging confirms an improvement in the patient’s condition.

The Ombudsman has recommended that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde apologise to the patient for the failings identified in their follow-up care.

The health board has also been asked to provide evidence that it has implemented the recommendations by a specified deadline.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been contacted for comment.