NHS FIFE has apologised to the family of a late patient who was put “at risk of malnutrition” due to poor nursing care in hospital.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) upheld a complaint - which included a failure to properly evaluate the patient’s pain - from a family member.

Their report said patient A was transferred from a different health board for rehabilitation following a stroke.

However, the complainant felt that "there was infrequent care rounding and that the provision of and monitoring of A’s diet, nutrition and fluid intake was poor".

They also felt that there were issues with "communication, catheter care and pain management".

The ombudsman upheld these claims.

Their report said: "We found that record keeping was not to the standard required in areas such as care rounding, fluid balance and food charts, and pain assessment documentation.

"The lack of accurate records of A’s nutritional assessment and needs suggested that A’s nutritional intake was not delivered to a reasonable standard and that they were at risk of malnutrition.

"Additionally, the absence of pain assessments on A’s observation and care rounding charts indicated a failure to properly evaluate A’s pain levels, making it difficult to determine if the pain medication provided was effectively relieving their pain."

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From this investigation, the SPSO determined that "there had been a lack of assessment, evaluation and implementation" of the patient’s needs and that there were "lengthy gaps between care interventions".

They recommended that, in the future, nursing staff should be aware of and meet the standards of the Nursing and Midwifery Council: The Code in reference to record keeping and that a patient's pain is properly assessed and recorded.

Due to this, the complaint was upheld and NHS Fife was told to apologise.

The health board’s director of nursing, Janette Keenan, added: "We strive to provide all patients with the highest standard of care and we accept that some aspects of the care we provided fell short of those high standards, in this instance.

"We have formally apologised to the family involved and we are working to implement the recommendations made by the SPSO."