Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mrs A complains about post operative care the Trust gave her daughter between September and November 2023.

4. She says her daughter attended the Trust every week post-operatively, and it dismissed symptoms of an infection. She says it did not prescribe antibiotics in a timely manner.

5. Mrs A says the delay in the Trust giving her daughter antibiotics triggered her multiple sclerosis (MS) to flare and led to her being readmitted to the Trust. Mrs A says her daughter can no longer write legibly, and the events have left her with limited feeling in her fingers. She can no longer drive and work, nor can she dress herself properly and hold small items like a pen or cutlery which makes eating difficult.

6. Mrs A is caring for her daughter, dealing with her finances, shopping, and administrative tasks. She says she will need to support her daughter financially as she needs to move to a more suitable property with adaptations. She says the impact on them both has been and continues to be mentally distressing, and the events have worsened her daughter’s mental and physical health. Mrs A says her daughter she will need financial assistance for ongoing and future care.

7. Mrs A is seeking a financial remedy as an outcome to the complaint.

8. Mrs A’s daughter has multiple sclerosis (MS). She had surgery on her foot in September 2023.

9. Mrs A’s daughter attended the Trust every week following her discharge, to have her cast changed and wound checked.

10. On 8 November, Mrs A’s daughter saw her consultant. They prescribed antibiotics for an infection.

11. On 26 November, Mrs A’s daughter was admitted to the Trust after she lost feeling in her legs that caused her to fall.

14. Mrs A’s complaint relates to clinical issues about the care and treatment the Trust gave her daughter. She says the Trust missed symptoms of an infection and did not give her daughter the correct care or treatment, nor did it prescribe her antibiotics within a timely manner. She says her daughter was eventually given antibiotics six weeks post-operatively.

15. Mrs A says the delay in the Trust prescribing antibiotics triggered a flare up of MS. This caused Mrs A’s daughter a significant impact mentally and physically and exacerbated her existing disability for which she will require lifelong care and assistance.

16. 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 do not consider whether legal action would succeed, but whether it is a reasonable option to look into.

17. We have discussed this with Mrs A to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she is seeking. We think there is an alternative legal option available to Mrs A. She could pursue the complaint in court through a clinical negligence claim.

18. Mrs A is seeking a financial remedy more than £12,500 as an outcome to the complaint and legal action could potentially achieve that for her.

19. We consider it is reasonable for Mrs A to seek legal advice to see if she can achieve the outcome she is seeking via a court process. We have not identified any reasons that would prevent Mrs A pursuing the legal route or make it unreasonable to expect her to do so. We spoke to Mrs A about this, and she did not tell us of anything that would prevent her doing so. We will therefore take no further action on Mrs A’s complaint because she has an alternative legal remedy which we think is reasonable for her to pursue.

20. We are sorry to hear of the concerns Mrs A has raised about the care her daughter received from the Trust. What happened had a very severe impact on her quality of life. We are grateful to Mrs A for taking the time to tell us about them.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs A’s complaint about Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We consider Mrs A could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us.

2. We understand the events that caused Mrs A to complain are very important to her. We recognise the impact the events have had on Mrs A and her daughter. It cannot be easy for them both thinking Mrs A’s daughter did not receive correct and timely care.