Patient receives NHS Tayside apology over pay-out blunder

Cheque for £3,000 ‘bounced’ due to ‘banking error’

NHS Tayside has apologised to a Dundee dialysis patient after writing her a £3,000 compensation cheque that failed to clear.

Donna McIntosh from Dundee was awarded the sum after raising a complaint against the health authority over an exploratory operation that went badly wrong three years ago.

Her relief at receiving compensation evaporated when she tried to cash the cheque only for the Royal Bank of Scotland to reject it.

Donna, 52, who is one of the UK’s longest surviving dialysis patients, tried to pay the cheque into her account as soon as she received it but she was horrified when the bank advised her it was being refused because they were unable to obtain the drawer’s permission.

She said: “I went to the bank and the teller said the cheque from the NHS had bounced. I couldn’t believe it.

“What sort of state must an organisation like NHS Tayside be in if their cheques start to bounce?”

The health board explained that the cheque had not “bounced” due to any lack of funds but had been rejected because of a “banking error”.

An investigation is now under way to try to find out exactly what went wrong with the transaction earlier this year.

Donna raised her complaint against NHS Tayside after her liver was ruptured during a biopsy in May 2012.

She went home following the operation, but was readmitted after her condition worsened.

A junior doctor initially diagnosed a chest infection but, 11 days after the biopsy procedure, doctors found a bleed from her liver.

She was eventually set on the road to recovery by a surgeon at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline, who stemmed the bleeding.

Donna now has six hours of dialysis three times a week.

She had hoped the award of £3,000 would offer compensation and closure to the latest incident, but was left frustrated by the banking bungle.

Robert Mackinnon, assistant director of finance for NHS Tayside, said: “I have contacted Ms McIntosh personally to apologise for the inconvenience and distress this has caused her.

“As soon as I was advised of the problem with the cheque and in order to resolve the problem as quickly as possible, I arranged an electronic transfer of the money to Ms McIntosh’s solicitor.

“We are in contact with our bank to investigate what went wrong on this occasion and to ensure that it does not happen again.”

What sort of state must an organisation like NHS Tayside be in if their cheques start to bounce? PATIENT DONNA MCINTOSH