University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mr A complained the Trust burned his back during a jaw operation in December 2020 and it did not give him appropriate aftercare.

4. Mr A says after he left hospital, he could not sleep without feeling pain. He says he had scars and pain for about a year. He explains the scars have now faded but he still needs to apply cream and continues to experience pain and mental trauma.

5. Mr A would like to know what happened to cause this injury. He would also like financial compensation.

6. The Trust operated on Mr A’s jaw to treat cancer. Mr A told us he woke up to severe pain and redness on his back.

7. The Trust discharged him on 22 December 2020 and he had follow up appointments with the Trust on 24 December, 15 January 2021, early February and 12 March.

8. The Trust’s complaint response said Mr A’s back was in contact with an allergen or irritant which caused the reaction.

11. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has, or had, the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is, or was, unreasonable in the circumstances.

12. Mr A would like an investigation and financial compensation. He could achieve both these outcomes by making a clinical negligence claim.

13. Mr A did not highlight any practical barriers that would prevent him from taking legal advice. Mr A and his partner told us they had spoken to a solicitor before while completing the Trust’s complaints process. They said at the time the solicitor did not want to take the case as there was a lack of evidence.

14. As Mr A has a legal route available to him, we cannot investigate the complaint. Mr A and his partner told us they are happy to contact solicitors to explore their legal options. As there is a time limit for making a clinical negligence claim, we do not want Mr A to lose the opportunity for taking legal action.

15. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to take. We advised Mr A that if a legal route is not possible, or if he does not achieve his outcomes through legal action, he can contact us again.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mr A’s complaint about the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We thank him taking the time to come to us with his concerns and we are sorry to hear about the pain he experienced and how this affected him.

2. We have decided Mr A could take legal action to resolve his complaint. We explain the reasons for our decision below.