Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

3. Ms B complains about the Trust. Specifically, she says the Trust cancelled an appointment at short notice in July 2024.

4. Ms B says the cancelled appointment delayed her peripheral nerve injection, which meant she remained in significant pain for longer. She says she eventually received the injection four months later. Ms B also says the cancellation caused her to lose earnings.

5. Ms B would like an apology, evidence of service improvements and a financial remedy of £595 to recognise her experience.

6. In March 2024, Ms B was referred the Pain Service for pre-operative Pain management.

7. Ms B says, while she was travelling from her home to her appointment, she was contacted by a member of the administrative team and informed that her appointment had been cancelled as it had been scheduled with the wrong consultant.

10. To decide if we should conduct a detailed investigation into a complaint, we first consider whether there are any indications something went wrong with the service provided by the organisation. If so, we then explore if the organisation would be willing to take further steps to put this right and resolve the complaint.

11. In its response of 27 September 2024, the Trust apologised for the inconvenience caused and offered to reimburse Ms B’s travel costs. The Trust included evidence of service improvements.

12. During this process, we approached the Trust and asked if it would be willing to pay £600 to recognise the impact on Ms B to put this complaint right. The Trust agreed to this. It said it would make this payment directly to her by the end of July 2026.

13. We approached Miss H and explained the Trust was willing to take steps to resolve her complaint. She was happy with this and confirmed the payment would resolve her complaint.

14. Our NHS Complaints Standards (2023) say organisations should find ‘suitable and appropriate ways to put things right for people who raise a complaint’. 28. In this case, we are satisfied the Trust has acknowledged it did not provide appropriate care and is willing to reimburse the costs of the appointment.

15. As this is the outcome Ms B is seeking, we consider this will resolve her complaint. Therefore, we have decided not to take any further action. We would like to thank both parties for their time and effort during this process.

1. We have carefully considered Ms B’s complaint about the Trust. We are sorry to hear Ms B suffered from prolonged pain. We appreciate this must have been a distressing experience for her.

2. The Trust has acknowledged the delay in providing an appointment will have contributed to Ms B’s pain and suffering. It confirmed it will offer Ms B £600 to recognise her experience alongside an apology and evidence of service improvements. Ms B has accepted this offer to resolve her complaint, so we have decided not to take any further action.