A practice in the Warwick area

3. Mr A complains about the care and treatment the Practice provided to his father from August until December 2023.

He specifically complains the Practice: • did not arrange for Mr N to have the COVID-19 booster vaccine as a housebound patient • did not arrange for Mr N to have timely dementia investigations to reach an earlier diagnosis • did not acknowledge or act upon Mr N's frailty.

4. Mr A says his father's death could have been avoided. He says the events have caused a lot of distress to his mother who questions whether she could have done more. Mr A also says his anxiety has increased as a result of the events.

5. Mr A wants the Practice to pay him financial compensation.

7. 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. We have discussed this with Mr A to understand his circumstances and the outcomes he wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

8. Mr A is seeking in excess of £12,500 compensation as an outcome to his complaint.

9. Mr A believes that whilst his father was under the Practice’s care, it did not ensure he had his COVID-19 booster vaccine and neglected him as a housebound patient. He believes his father’s death could have been avoided. Because of this there is a potential cause of action.

10. Mr A told us there is a financial barrier to him pursuing legal action and he is concerned he would not cope with more complication and stress.

11. Mr A has not explored any legal routes including firms with no upfront costs, such as no-win, no-fee solicitors.

12. We recognise Mr A feels he could not cope with additional complication and stress from taking legal action, however, this process is similar to ours in which Mr A is required to share information etc.

13. Taking all of this into account, we consider it is reasonable for Mr A to at least look into pursuing legal action to attempt to achieve the outcome he is seeking. The courts can independently review the complaint and decide whether there has been clinical negligence and, if so, award financial compensation. He can bring the complaint back to us to consider any outstanding issues, or if he finds he is unable to pursue legal action for any reason.

1. We have carefully considered Mr A’s complaint about a practice in the Warwick area (the Practice). We are sorry to learn of the events that occurred in 2023 and of the death of his father, Mr N. From his complaint we can see this has caused him and his mother significant distress.

2. Mr A is seeking compensation as an outcome to his complaint and had indicated that his father’s death could have been avoidable. We consider Mr A could take legal action on the matters he has brought to us.