A man in his fifties visited a health centre at the beginning of the year with fever and body aches. He also had a small wound, not considered infected, on his finger for two days. A culture of the wound was performed and the inflammatory marker was very low. The patient was admitted for a follow-up examination the following day, where a new sample was taken. At this point, several vital factors were affected and the inflammatory marker rose significantly. The man was sent to hospital. There he developed toxic shock syndrome, probably due to the wound on his finger where yellow staphylococcus was found. The patient also suffered from acute kidney failure, which was successfully treated with dialysis. However, amputation of the lower legs and the finger was necessary, according to the notification of Lex Maria to the Health and Care Inspectorate.

The patient himself stated that on the first visit he was so ill that he did not question the doctor's assessment. He and a relative later considered whether he should have been sent to hospital after the first visit to the health center. This issue was also raised in discussions among health care staff. “Patients classified as red can be considered to have been sent to hospital even without first consulting a hospital consultant,” the notifier writes.