James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

2. Mrs F complains that during seven appointments between 2017 and September 2022 James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) failed to carry out suitable biopsy on a lump in her right breast.

3. In September 2022, she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). She says she is constantly worried that the Trust has missed something. Mrs F also says she has lost out on earning of around £150,000 because of the impact of the Trust’s errors.

4. Mrs F wants a full apology and to be compensated for lost income.

7. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is unreasonable in the circumstances. We have discussed this with Miss N to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

8. Mrs F says she had a lump in her right breast and attended a clinic in 2017. The Trust carried out a biopsy in 2017 and it was not cancerous. She attended the Trust seven times over a five-year period in order to have the lump (cyst) drained.

9. In September 2022 she went for an appointment as the lump was painful. The Trust caried out a biopsy. It took samples from both sides of the lump and it diagnosed Mrs F with TNBC.

10. Mrs F says she has been unable to work since and has lost out on earnings of around £150,000 because it did not diagnose her sooner.

11. Legal action could provide the financial remedy sought by Mrs F. She could pursue a clinical negligence claim to seek that compensation. Whilst Mrs F could not pursue a legal claim specifically to achieve an apology this could be a by-product of such action.

12. We discussed the option to pursue legal action with Mrs F (via email) and she told us of no obstacles to prevent this from happening. Mrs F said she did not want to start again with her complaint and was worried about having to go through everything again. We understand that having to explain her complaint is difficult for her. But we do not think that in itself means it is unreasonable for her to pursue the legal route given the significant losses she said she incurred. Therefore, we will decline to proceed with the complaint as a legal route is available to her.

13. Should Mrs F explore legal action but find she is unable to proceed, or if there are outcomes remaining after she has taken legal action, she can ask us again to consider her complaint. If she does that later she should do so without any delay.

14. We are grateful to Mrs F for taking the time to tell us about the difficult experiences she had. What happened must have been very distressing for her.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs F’s complaint about James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We consider Mrs F could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us. We are sorry to hear about the events that led to Mrs F’s complaint, and the obvious distress that has caused her.