#publicservicesombudsmanforwales — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #publicservicesombudsmanforwales, aggregated by home.social.
-
HYWEL DDA: Health board pays out after patient left with ‘significant sight impairment’ following ‘serious failings’
A damning report from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales found the health board missed multiple opportunities to treat the patient, known as Mrs B, who was “lost to follow-up” for seven years.
The investigation found that clinicians failed to act on advice from another health board in 2012, did not carry out appropriate tests, and cancelled 11 appointments while the patient’s condition worsened.
The Ombudsman’s report concluded that if Mrs B had received appropriate care, she would likely have “retained useful vision in her right eye.”
Instead, the “devastating impact” has resulted in her losing her confidence and independence, becoming depressed and isolated, and now requiring care to live at home.
The health board has been ordered to pay Mrs B £4,500 for the “serious failings” and a further £300 for the time and trouble she was put to in pursuing her complaint.
Sharon Daniel, Director of Nursing, Quality and Patient Experience at Hywel Dda University Health Board, offered an unreserved apology.
“We acknowledge the findings of the Ombudsman’s report and we are sorry for the failings identified and the impact on the patient who was under our care and her family,” she said.
“We recognise that there were significant failures in the way we approached the treatment of our patient that led to her suffering significant sight impairment. We apologise unreservedly for these failures.
“This is not the level of service we wish to provide our patients and we will strive to do better.”
The Ombudsman’s investigation highlighted that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, no assessment was made of the risk to Mrs B’s sight, despite guidance stating that imminently sight-threatening conditions “MUST CONTINUE” to be treated.
The report also criticised an “inadequate” review in March 2022, where relevant tests were not done and an opportunity was missed to make an earlier referral for specialist treatment.
Ms Daniel confirmed the health board accepted the Ombudsman’s recommendations and had started to implement improvements.
These include increased staffing levels, a new glaucoma co-ordinator role, and a better system for categorising patients based on their risk of vision loss.
The health board is also installing a new electronic patient record system, ‘Open Eyes’, to improve record keeping and ensure seamless information sharing with neighbouring health boards like Swansea Bay University Health Board.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Llanelli teen invited to Parliament after years of agony from invisible illness
A young woman’s long fight for answers finally reaches Westminster.Hendy BAFTA winner calls for Tourette’s understanding after BBC apology
A powerful plea for respect after a broadcast sparks outrage.Swansea favourite Kev Johns recovering after minor stroke
Much‑loved entertainer thanks supporters as he begins his recovery.Carmarthenshire mum says Guide Dogs support was a lifeline
A family shares how early help transformed life after their baby’s diagnosis.More health stories
#Carmarthenshire #HywelDdaUniversityHealthBoard #NHSWales #Ophthalmology #patientSafety #PublicServicesOmbudsmanForWales
The latest updates on health, care and wellbeing across our region. -
‘Cooking the books’: Ombudsman slams ‘systemic failure’ at health board over latest knee surgery scandal
The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has delivered a damning verdict, branding the case part of a systemic failure in the way the Health Board manages its waiting lists. It comes less than two years after three earlier public interest reports exposed similar blunders in orthopaedic care, and just months after an independent review of maternity and neonatal services found repeated failings and forced Welsh Government intervention
Together, the scandals paint a picture of a Health Board struggling to maintain basic standards across critical services, with watchdogs warning that Swansea Bay has failed to learn from past mistakes.
Patient’s fury: “Cooking the books”
The man, known only as Mr W, told investigators he believed the Health Board was “cooking the books” when he discovered his waiting time clock had been reset without his knowledge. He had already been waiting more than 276 weeks — over five years — yet officials claimed his wait was just 60 weeks.
The Ombudsman agreed the reset was inappropriate and amounted to maladministration, saying it robbed Mr W of the chance to undergo surgery. By the time the error was uncovered, he was no longer fit to proceed.
A catalogue of errors
The investigation found no clinician had ever documented Mr W as medically unfit when his clock was reset in October 2023. Instead, he was sent for further tests, which later confirmed he was fit to go ahead. Yet the reset had already been applied, wiping years off his waiting time.
The Health Board admitted an “administrative error” in how the reset was recorded, and conceded Mr W was never told about the change. What shocked the Ombudsman further was that Swansea Bay had already been ordered to audit its waiting lists after the earlier scandals. That audit was supposed to catch mistakes like this, but it failed — raising serious doubts about whether other patients have also been short‑changed.
Health Board forced into public apology
Chief Executive Abigail Harris has now been forced to issue a public apology after the Ombudsman’s report exposed the blunders. In a statement, she said:
“The Health Board would like to publicly apologise for the failings identified and for the distress that this caused to the patient. We fully accept the Ombudsman’s recommendations and will implement them within the prescribed timescales.”
The Ombudsman’s recommendations go far beyond a simple apology. Swansea Bay must retrain staff on the rules for managing waiting lists, making sure cases like Mr W’s are handled properly in future. An independent re‑audit of orthopaedic waiting lists will now be commissioned to check if other patients have been treated unfairly, and if so, they too must be apologised to and have their records corrected. The Board itself has been told to take direct oversight, with a committee monitoring compliance to ensure these failures are not repeated.
A scandal with wider echoes
For Mr W, the apology comes too late. His five‑year wait has ended not with surgery, but with the door slammed shut. And his words — accusing the Health Board of “cooking the books” — will now echo far beyond his own case, raising fresh fears for thousands of other patients across Swansea Bay.
With maternity services already under special measures after repeated failings, and orthopaedics now branded a “systemic failure,” the Health Board faces mounting pressure to prove it can finally fix a broken system.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Independent review finds repeated failings in Swansea Bay maternity care
Welsh Government escalates intervention after a damning review of maternity and neonatal services.Health Minister escalates Swansea Bay maternity services
Concerns from families trigger enhanced monitoring across maternity services.Patient group reveals shocking treatment of new mothers at Singleton Hospital
Llais report details mothers feeling unheard, unsupported, or unsafe in local maternity care.Leading KC appointed to oversee review of Swansea Bay maternity services
Senior legal oversight brought in to drive accountability and improvements.#administrativeError #featured #hospitalWaitingList #kneeReplacementSurgery #NHSWaitingList #orthopaedicCare #orthopaedics #PublicServicesOmbudsmanForWales #SwanseaBayNHS #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard #WaitingLists