A health board has been ordered to pay £750 to the family of a young boy who suffered “continuous pain” after a circumcision.

An investigation by the Public Ombudsman for Wales found that surgeons at Bronglais General Hospital in Aberystwyth gave “unsatisfactory” care to the young patient and ordered them to apologise.

Despite the ombudsman finding nothing to suggest the procedure had been carried out incorrectly, it concluded there was a “poor cosmetic result”.

'Continuous pain'

It also concluded that the family were not fully advised of the risk associated with the circumcision.

The mother of the young patient, known in the report as “Mrs Y”, said her son suffered continuous pain following the procedure in November 2012 and was discharged without passing urine.

Mrs Y also expressed concern that there was a failure to offer a follow-up appointment to her son, who was just five years old at the time.

She said her son, known as “Child Y”, suffered both physically and emotionally from the hospital’s shortcomings and had to suffer the distress of further operations and their associated risks.

'Poor cosmetic result'

The report concluded: “There was a poor cosmetic result in Child Y’s case but taking account of clinical advice, it is clear that this can unfortunately happen.

“There was nothing to suggest that the procedure had been incorrectly carried out and no concerns were identified about the competency of the locum consultant to perform the operation.

“Sadly however Child Y had to deal with the trauma and further operations.

“There was nothing to suggest that Child Y’s pain had not been adequately managed.”

Recommendations

The ombudsman has ordered Hywel Dda University Health Board to apologise within one month of the report’s publication, pay the family £500 from the shortcomings identified and a further £250 for the time and trouble of complaining.

It has also called for a review into the preoperative information given to families and for the ward to ensure discharge takes place in line with relevant procedures.

A spokesman for Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “We fully accept the report and have written to the family to apologise for the shortcomings identified by the Ombudsman. We have also assured them that recommendations have been made and we are confident that there will be improvements in our practise.”