Referral Delay

When a diagnosis is missed, perhaps a fracture is not spotted on an x-ray, or x-rays are not taken at all, and a patient is discharged incorrectly, there is inevitably a delay in the patient receiving the treatment that they need for the injury they have sustained. In some cases the delay in receiving the treatment will not make the outcome worse for the patient and there will not be a claim. In other cases though, the outcome will be made significantly worse for the patient. The TSP team have worked on two cases recently where fractures have been missed and the resulting delay in treatment has meant reduced mobility going forward for one patient and the need for a hip replacement operation in the other.

However, there are also cases where, even though a correct diagnosis has been made, the patient has not been referred to a consultant or other team at the hospital when they should have been and the delay has resulted in a worse outcome for them.

In one recent case Mr X was diagnosed with facial fractures but was not referred by A&E to the correct team, and another client had his lacerated thumb repaired in the A&E department when he should have been referred to a consultant on his first attendance at A&E.