Partnership of East London Co-operatives Ltd

4. Mr E complains about Partnership of East London Co-operative Ltd (the Trust) regarding the diagnosis of his conditions when he attended the Trust in February 2022 and September 2022.

5. Mr E complains the Trust, • misdiagnosed him on both occasions.

• provided incorrect advice.

6. Mr E tells us as a result of the actions of the Trust he has been left suffering paralysis on the left side of his face and is unable to speak clearly. He tells us he has suffered some blindness and is unable to eat well.

7. Mr E is seeking financial compensation.

10. Mr E complains about the diagnosis given during both his attendances at the Emergency Department (ED). He tells he was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy in February 2022 only to be told a week later that he had Ramsey Hunt Syndrome. He further complains about the diagnosis and lack of treatment provided when he attended in September 2022 with concerns about his Achilles. He complains the Trust failed to carry out appropriate examinations or provide correct advice.

11. The complaint about of Ramsey Hunt Syndrome 13 is months out of date and the complaint about his Achillies injury is six months out of date.

12. Mr E did not complain to the Trust until November 2023, 21 months after his date of knowledge about his diagnosis of Ramsey Hunt Syndrome and 14 months after his Achillies injury. He received a response to his concerns March 2024 and tells us he remained unhappy. He brought his complaint to us two weeks after receiving this response in March 2024.

13. By law, we do not normally consider complaints that are made to us over twelve months after the person became aware that there was a problem.

14. There is a gap of twenty-one months from when Mr E knew of his concerns about the initial Bell’s Palsy diagnosis and fourteen months after his Achillies diagnosis and him instigating a complaint.

15. We have discussed this with Mr E and asked for clarification regarding this gap. Mr E explained he knew of his diagnosis and concerns in February 2022 and September 2022. He says he chose not to raise a complaint at that time as he explained he made the decision to do just deal with his issues and move on.

16. Reviewing the documents provided and after seeking clarification from Mr E it is evident, he had concerns from the time he was told of both his diagnoses. We understand he tells us he did not instigate a complaint as he made the decision to deal with them and move on. This is not reason enough for us to put our time limit to one side. We have not seen any good reason for the delay to investigate his complaint.

1. We have carefully considered Mr E’s complaint about Partnership of East London Co-operatives Ltd (the Trust). We understand how worrying and difficult it has been for Mr A to feel he has been incorrectly diagnosed on two occasions.

2. The complaint falls outside of the legal time limit to bring a complaint to the Ombudsman (us), and, though we have some discretion to waive the time limit, on this occasion have not seen reason to justify this.

3. We recognise our decision will be disappointing for Mr E and hope the information in this statement clearly explains the reasons for our decision.