Scottish NHS 'to blame for patient dying of kidney failure'

An NHS trust in Scotland has been criticised for causing a patient to die through its neglect.

The damning judgment on NHS Tayside comes after the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman decided to rule in favour of the daughter of a man who died from kidney failure after not being given enough fluids.

According to the family member, her father, who was admitted to the Ninewells Hospital in October 2006 with nothing more than a broken arm, developed a chest infection and then kidney failure as a result of inadequate levels of care.

This is in spite of the fact that she herself had raised concerns about his levels of fluid intake with staff at the hospital and had even resorted to bringing in food and drink for her father.

Following on from the Ombudsman's decision, the NHS trust has issued an apology to the patient's family and is set to follow recommendations that it should implement an action plan to tighten up procedures of care on its wards.

At the same time, Staffordshire County Council is calling for a fresh inquiry into what went wrong at one of its local hospitals, where conditions of care have been described as "appalling" over recent years.

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