GP 'failed to spot' heart disease hours before man died

SCOTLAND's biggest health board has been heavily criticised for failing to diagnose heart disease in a disabled man just hours before he died from a heart attack.

The man, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, died in his bed shortly after a GP employed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde decided not to send him to hospital following an out-of-hours home visit.

A report published yesterday by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) accused the health board of failing to provide "reasonable care" to the patient, and upheld a complaint by the man's wife.

She had said that admitting her husband to hospital might have "improved his chances of survival".

The health board was forced to apologise to the family of the dead man, who was diagnosed with an "in?ammation of the inner ear" by the doctor, even though a nurse adviser taking the initial call to NHS 24 from the victim's wife had said that the symptoms the patient complained about such as tingling in his arms and breathlessness could be due to a "problem with his heart".

The report said that the GP attending the home of the dead man, who was referred to as Mr C, had been told that the patient had suffered from "these episodes for the last one and a half weeks".

However, a statement from the man's widow, in the Ombudsman's report, revealed that the GP had said that he "did not think it was Mr C's heart, but labyrinthitis" and that he "gave Mr C an injection, a prescription and some pills".

The statement said: "Mr C was relieved and went to the back door to have a cigarette.

"He died a few hours later in his bed of a heart attack."

It went on to say that the patient's wife "accepted that even if he had been referred to hospital, he may still have died but she considered that it would have improved his chances if he had been admitted to hospital by the GP".

There was also a statement from the GP, which said "he did not refer Mr C to hospital because he was falsely reassured by the normal vital signs and absence of typical chest pain, pallor and sweating to suggest a heart problem".

The GP said that "Mr C's tragic death was a major significant event".

He added that "it was something he took most seriously" and would be "a big learning point" in his career.

In his conclusion, the ombudsman said there were failures in the "care and treatment provided to Mr C by the GP".

He said: "In all the circumstances, I uphold the complaint."

The report called on NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to "ensure that the failings" are raised with the GP during his next appraisal.

The health board was also instructed to apologise to the family of the dead man.

In a statement, the health board said: "This is a tragic case and our deepest sympathies are with the family."We have now received the ombudsman's full report and will act upon the two recommendations made by him.

"We have already apologised to the patient's family and we will take the opportunity to apologise again as part of responding to the recommendations made."

Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scotland Patients' Association, said: "A big problem is that GPs are not being given sufficient time to diagnose patients. There's a real need for them to be given extra time and to do this we need to take on more GPs so that more time can be devoted to diagnosing patients."