Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust

2. Mr I complains that between 2008 and 2017 the Trust failed to recognise a spinal fracture and to give him decompression surgery for back pain.

3. Mr I says the failings led to 15 years of back pain and, more recently, several years of abdominal pain.

4. Mr I is looking for a large financial payment.

5. Mr I experienced a back injury after an assault in 2008 and has been trying to get treatment for back pain since.

6. Mr I says pain management has not worked and he needs surgery. He says he was refused in 2017 and continues to be refused.

7. Mr I says NHS guidelines advise back surgery if other treatments have failed.

8. The Trust says surgery would not resolve Mr I’s back pain and it will not offer surgery.

11. Mr I complains the Trust will not treat him despite him speaking to it many times. The Trust says it has given Mr I advice from different consultants over 15 years. They dispute Mr I’s fracture was missed and say surgery is not an option as it would not resolve his pain but conservative pain management is the only option. The Trust says it is unable to consider his requests for surgery any further.

12. The Health Service Commissioner Act 1993 says we cannot investigate a complaint if there is (or was) a legal route available that the person could take, unless it is (or was) unreasonable for them to.

13. We are sorry to hear about Mr I’s ongoing back pain and the frustration he has experienced over a number of years. He may be able to explore his complaint by making a clinical negligence claim.

14. Mr I has not taken any legal advice and he has not told us about anything that would stop him from getting advice.

15. Mr I explained he is looking for a large financial payment (£3,000 to £9,950). A legal case would likely be able to achieve this if successful.

16. If we did look at this complaint, the amount of financial payment we may be able to recommend is often much lower than what legal action can achieve. As Mr I is not looking for anything else, there is nothing else we could achieve that he would not be able to get through legal action.

17. Legal action is the most appropriate action for Mr I. He can return to us with any outstanding issues not considered by a court or if legal action is not successful.

1. We have carefully considered Mr I’s complaint about Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). Having reviewed the available evidence and discussed the matter with Mr I, through his advocate, we have decided Mr I could take legal action on the matter he has brought to us.