A medical practice in the Lincolnshire area

4. Mr K complains that, from 6 September 2019 to 16 September 2019 the Practice failed to prescribe budesonide (an anti-inflammatory drug) for his Crohn’s disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) flare up, despite him experiencing severe abdominal pain.

5. He says he has been prescribed budesonide previously and believes the Practice was unfairly withholding the medication from him until it was eventually prescribed on 16 September. He says the Practice also lost his medical records.

6. Mr K says as a result, he experienced horrible distress, anxiety, sleep disturbance, depression and his Crohn’s disease deteriorated with increased symptoms of acute abdominal pain, fever, sweating, diarrhoea and incontinence.

7. By bringing this complaint to us, Mr K is seeking an apology and £100,000 financial redress.

8. The law (the Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 4) states we cannot investigate a complaint where the complainant could get the outcome they want by taking legal action, unless we think it is not reasonable for them to do so. This ensures the Ombudsman does not interfere with matters which the Courts are responsible for.

9. We discussed Mr K’s complaint with him to understand the outcomes he is seeking to put things right. He said he is seeking £100,000 financial redress and an apology. The amount Mr K is seeking is more than we might usually recommend in similar cases. Mr K has a clear legal route he could use to try to achieve these outcomes, as he can bring a clinical negligence claim against the Practice. The Courts can potentially award higher amounts of financial compensation than we can.

10. During a phone call with Mr K, we asked if he had approached a solicitor about his case or considered legal action. He said he has not, as he wanted to see what we would decide first.

11. Mr K did not raise any personal barriers, or any financial barriers to legal action.

12. It is clear the Courts are best placed to achieve the level of compensation Mr K is seeking. As he can see no clear barriers to taking legal action, it is reasonable for him to explore this before we can consider his complaint.

13. We recognise this decision may be frustrating for Mr K, but, in light of the serious impact he outlined, it is especially important he has the best opportunity to achieve the level of financial compensation he is seeking.

14. We cannot provide legal advice, and so cannot say whether his claim will be successful. It is important Mr K is aware there are time-limits for clinical negligence claims.

15. Mr K explained he is also seeking an apology from the Practice. The Courts cannot directly recommend this outcome, but an apology is often a by-product of successful legal action. If he has any outstanding issues which the Courts are unable to achieve, then he can bring the complaint back to us. He can also return to us if he explores legal action but is unable to pursue it.

16. We ask Mr K takes into consideration our time limit, as the law says the complaint must be made to us within a year of becoming aware of the problem. We can consider putting this limit to one side, if we think there are strong reasons to do so. That means that if he did return to us, we would take into account the decision we are making to close the case now, but we would want to see that he had pursued the case as promptly as possible.

17. In summary, we have decided we will not take further action on Mr K’s complaint. I hope I have explained the thorough consideration we have given to our decision and clearly outlined the reasons for it. We apologise for any frustration caused, however we want to make sure he has the best possible chance of successfully achieving his desired outcomes.

1. We have carefully considered Mr K’s complaint about a Medical Practice in the Linconshire area (the Practice). We are very sorry to hear of the circumstances that led Mr K to approach us. We recognise the distress this has caused him, and we do not wish to diminish the impact these events had on him.

2. We have decided to take no further action on Mr K’s complaint about the care and treatment received at present, as we consider Mr K could take legal action to secure the substantial financial remedy he is seeking.

3. Mr K is also seeking an apology from the Practice. This is not something the Courts can directly order but may be a by-product of successful legal action. If the Courts do not order all of Mr K’s desired outcomes, then he can return to us to reconsider his complaint.