P-003771: The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

Topics and themes

1 PHSO issue · 2 Index themes

PHSO issue classifications

Treatment

Accountability Index themes

Outcome

AI summary

The complaint was closed. The ombudsman decided not to consider it further as Mr T could pursue legal action.

The complaint

3. Mr T complains about the care and treatment The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, provided to his mother prior to her death in May 2024.

4. Mr T believes his mother should not have died. Mr T says the Trust’s actions have destroyed his life.

5. To resolve his complaint, Mr T is seeking an apology, service improvements and a financial remedy.

Findings

7. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has the option to take legal action, unless we consider it is not reasonable for them to do so. We do not base our decision on how successful legal action would be. Rather, we consider whether legal action is a reasonable option for someone to pursue.

8. We discussed this with Mr T to understand his circumstances and the outcomes he is hoping to achieve. Mr T has told us he is seeking a significant financial remedy due to the Trust’s actions.

9. We have seen no barriers to Mr T accessing legal advice. Legal advice can be free of charge, or offered under a conditional arrangement such as, ‘no win, no fee’ services, which would not incur any upfront charges. We understand that Mr T is due to explore his options with solicitors in the coming weeks.

10. Mr T says he would also like an apology and service improvements from the Trust. If the court does not achieve this, he may wish to return to us and ask us to consider this for him.

11. We have considered the relevant factors and law. Mr T could take legal action on the issues he has brought to us. We do not see any barriers to prevent Mr T from pursuing legal action and we think it is reasonable that he does so. We have therefore decided not to consider the complaint further.

12. We recognise how important this matter is to Mr T and the significance of the impact the events have had on him. We thank him for bringing this complaint to our attention.

PHSO decision

1. We have carefully considered Mr T’s complaint about the Trust. We are sorry to hear about what happened and recognise the significant impact this has had on him and his father.

2. We have decided not to consider the complaint further. This is because we consider Mr T could take legal action on the matter he has brought to us.