A FIFE man had to have his leg amputated after his wound became infected with maggots.

Health officials have now been ordered by the Scottish Ombudsman to apologise for its failings in the care received by the man.

The man, identified in the Ombudsman's report as Mr A, suffered from inadequate blood supply condition ischaemia.

The illness had previously resulted in the amputation of his right leg below the knee and he had been admitted to hospital with ischaemia of the left foot and an ulcer.

As there was no surgical option available to address the issue, Mr A was told that the plan was to delay amputation as long as possible and he would see district nurses twice a week after his discharge from hospital. 

Months later, a nurse identified deterioration in Mr A's foot and contacted his GP practice.

The GP prescribed antibiotics, however, Mr A didn't receive a visit from a nurse for a further six days.

When a nurse did visit, a maggot infection was discovered in Mr A's wound. He was subsequently taken to hospital and underwent an above-knee amputation of his left leg.

After receiving independent advice from a nurse, the Ombudsman found that the board had failed to ensure twice-weekly visits as required by Mr A's care plan and that the board's communication was below a reasonable standard. 

In addition, it found that, while the board generally complied with wound management guidance, formal wound assessments were not conducted regularly. 

The Ombudsman recommended that the Fife NHS Board apologised for the failings identified in the investigation and asked it to comfirm that they would audit district nursing formal wound assessment charts to ensure they met local and national guidelines. 

Other recommendations included reminding staff of the importance of ensuring requested visits were followed up and documented within patients' records and the provision of improved systems for communicating a patient's plan of care between team members and other healthcare providers.

Fife NHS Health Board's deputy chief executive, Rona King, said they had since reviewed their systems and implemented all of the Ombudsman's recommendations. 

“I would like to take the opportunity to reiterate our apology to those concerned," she added. "On this occasion we fell short of our normal high standards of care."