An independent provider in the Tendring area

5. Miss H complains about aspects of the care and treatment provided to her late mother, Ms L by the Trust in November 2023.

6. Specifically, she complains the Trust:

• waited 10 months before carrying out a JJ stent exchange procedure • did not take a urine sample from Ms L before going ahead with the procedure • carried out the procedure, despite Ms L not being medically fit and well • provided poor aftercare to Ms L following the procedure, including delays in treating sepsis.

7. Miss H says because of this, it was not recognised that Ms L had a urinary tract infection (UTI – bacterial infection of the urinary system) which led to her having sepsis after the procedure, and this resulted in her death. Miss H explains this was distressing for her and her family.

8. Miss H is seeking accountability that negligence occurred and a financial remedy.

9. Ms L had a pre-operative assessment for a JJ stent exchange procedure on 13 November 2023. In its complaint response, the Trust said there were no concerns about her health at this time and a urine sample was taken.

10. Ms L was transferred from the care home she was resident in, to the Trust to undergo the procedure on 20 November 2023.

11. A further pre-operative assessment was carried out again which deemed her to be well enough for surgery. A urine sample could not be taken due to Ms L being nil by mouth in preparation for the surgery. The medical team decided to still go ahead with the procedure as Ms L did not appear to have any infective symptoms and appeared to be well. It provided Ms L with an intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis (medication used to help reduce the risk of post-operative infections).

12. During the procedure, the medical team identified Ms L had a suspected UTI so extra antibiotic cover was provided. The medical team washed out Ms L’s bladder and completed the procedure.

13. After the procedure, Ms L was transferred to recovery and observed. Unfortunately, Ms L’s condition deteriorated, and she was transferred to the intensive care unit on 21 November. Sepsis was suspected and Ms L was given further treatment, including more antibiotics. Sadly, Ms L continued to deteriorate, and she died on 22 November.

16. 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 Miss H 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.

17. Miss H could pursue a clinical negligence claim because she believes the care and treatment Ms L received, led to her death. We recognise this was a difficult time for Miss H.

18. Miss H also explained to us she is seeking accountability that negligence occurred in Ms L’s care and treatment and a financial remedy. Although she could not give us an exact figure of how much she wants, this appears to be a higher amount.

19. Only a court can make a finding of clinical negligence and whilst we can recommend a financial remedy if we uphold a complaint, the courts are also well placed to recommend this.

20. Miss H further explained to us that she is already in touch with a solicitor and is in the process of pursuing a clinical negligence claim to try and achieve the outcomes she wants. There are no barriers preventing Miss H from pursuing legal action and she is happy to pursue this route.

21. Based on what we have considered, we therefore think it would be reasonable for Miss H to pursue legal action at this time as she has already started this process, and it may be able to provide the outcomes she seeks.

22. If Miss H is unable to proceed with the legal route and wants us to consider her complaint again, she can contact us. It is important Miss H approaches us as soon as possible. This is because we can usually only look at complaints that are raised within 12 months of the person becoming aware of the issue, although we can sometimes put our time limit to one side if we feel it is reasonable to do so.

23. We thank Miss H for bringing her complaint to us and for speaking to us about it, we recognise this will have been difficult for her. We hope this statement clearly explains the reasons why we will not be considering her concerns further at this time.

1. We have carefully considered Miss H’s complaint about the Trust. Having done so, we consider Miss H could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us.

2. Miss H raised concerns about her late mother, Ms L’s care when she had a JJ stent exchange procedure (replaces an existing ureteric stent, which opens the ureter to help urine drain) in November 2023.

3. We acknowledge how important Miss H’s complaint is to her and recognise this has been a difficult time. We are sorry to hear of Ms L’s sad death and the impact this has had on Miss H.

4. We consider legal action may provide the outcomes Miss H seeks. If she is unable to achieve any of the outcomes she seeks through the legal process, she can return to us without delay to ask us to consider her concerns. We have therefore decided not to consider the complaint further.