An anorexic young woman was forced to use her savings, and those of her mother, to pay for life-saving treatment due to failures by two NHS bodies in working out who should foot the bill, a report has said.
The joint inquiry by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales and Health Service Ombudsman for England revealed that the younger woman, referred to as Miss S, lived in south Wales but developed anorexia while staying with a friend across the border in England.
Her mother, Mrs S, said they had had to pay around £31,000 for private care because the debate over who should treatment was taking so long her daughter’s health was starting to deteriorate.
The report found maladministration and service failure by Health Commission Wales, Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, and Plymouth Teaching Primary Care Trust led to “unremedied injustice and hardship” for both women.
It recommended that Health Commission Wales should reimburse the family for the money they were forced to spend.
Liz Cooney, director of professional practice for Plymouth Teaching Primary Care Trust, said: “We now have a robust system embedded in our organisation’s processes to ensure this does not happen again.”
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