Complaint against NHS Tayside dismissed by ombudsman

A woman who complained about her treatment by NHS Tayside has had her case dismissed by the Scottish public services ombudsman.

She is a telephonist and needed treatment after suffering an acoustic shock incident at work, which left her with pain in the ear, head and neck. A specialist who examined her said her description of the pain sounded like muscle tension.

He also said she had tinnitus and this was difficult to tie in with acoustic shock, although it was also difficult to say what else might have caused the problem.

The woman, who has not been named, was unhappy about her diagnosis and felt the investigation of her complaint was inadequate.

The ombudsman took advice from a medical expert and ruled that the specialist’s conclusions were reasonable and that management had handled her concerns appropriately. However, they have recommended that the doctor concerned establishes a tinnitus protocol for his patients.