Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

2. Mr A complains about the Trust pain management clinic’s rejection of several referrals to take over his care for palliative care when his current consultant announced he was retiring in 2025.

3. Mr A says that the pain management clinic’s rejection of his referral resulted in him taking an overdose in July 2025.

4. As an outcome Mr A would like an acknowledgment of failings, an apology and a financial award.

5. Mr A attended the Trust’s pain clinic in 2010. It was unable to manage his chronic pain, so he was referred to palliative care at another Trust.

6. The palliative care consultant prescribed Mr A with methadone, and he has been managing his pain this way for 15 years. In 2025, the consultant made Mr A aware they were retiring. They said they would refer Mr A back to the Trust for ongoing pain management.

7. The pain clinic subsequently declined several referrals on the basis it would not prescribe methadone and that it had previously exhausted other medication without success. Mr A says this caused him significant distress and resulted in him attempting to take his own life.

8. The palliative care consultant did not retire and continues to manage Mr A’s pain.

11. The law gives us discretion to decide which cases we will investigate. Before we decide if we should conduct a detailed investigation of a complaint, we look at whether there are signs the event complained about had a negative effect which the organisation has not put right. Having done so we cannot link the events complained about with the negative impact Mr A has claimed.

12. We understand the challenging circumstances Mr A was facing in July 2025. He experienced constant, though managed, pain and other health problems.

13. Mr A confirmed that his palliative care consultant did not in fact retire and continues to manage his pain. We can understand that Mr A’s palliative care consultant announcing retirement coupled with the pain clinic management clinic declining his referral may have caused Mr A anxiety. However, Mr A has confirmed his pain has continued to be managed by the palliative care team. As Mr A’s pain continued to be managed, we consider we would be unable to link the Trust pain management clinic’s decision to decline the referral with Mr A taking an overdose in July 2025. We have therefore decided not to consider further the Trust’s decision regarding the referral. We will be taking no further action in this matter.

14. We appreciate this decision may be disappointing for Mr A. We recognise how difficult and distressing this matter has been for him, and we do not underestimate the seriousness of what he has told us.

1. We have carefully considered Mr A’s complaint about Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust (the Trust). Mr A told us his pain continues to be managed under the palliative care consultant. Because of this, we do not consider we can link his attempted suicide to the pain clinic’s decision to decline his referrals. Our decision is in no way meant to diminish the distress Mr A must have felt at that time and how strongly he feels about his complaint.