South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mrs O complains that during a caesarean in 2013 the Trust incorrectly stitched her uterus.

4. Mrs O explains the incorrect use of stitches during her Caesarean caused her years of pain and discomfort. She suffered stress and anxiety caused by not knowing what was wrong. She suffered the inconvenience of many explorative consultations and is unable to have more children.

5. By raising the complaint Mrs O seeks a financial award of £9,000, an apology and service improvements.

6. Mrs O gave birth to her second child via Caesarean section on 19 March 2013. Following this, she experienced ongoing abdominal pain, cramps, and swelling for several years. Despite seeking medical advice from the Trust and undergoing various investigations, no definitive cause for her symptoms was identified.

7. After failing to identify the cause of her symptoms, Mrs O sought treatment privately. A private consultant determined her uterus was swollen and they recommended a partial hysterectomy.

8. Mrs O underwent the partial hysterectomy on 28 December 2023 at a private hospital. Following the operation, she was informed by her consultant her uterus had been twisted, likely due to a stitch being pulled too tightly during her 2013 Caesarean.

9. Mrs O said shortly after becoming aware of the issue after her surgery she raised concerns with the Trust. Mrs O recalls this being on or around 4 January 2024. She raised the findings of her private consultant and requested her medical records. She informed us she did not receive a response from the Trust.

10. On 12 February 2025, Mrs O emailed the Trust to formally raise her concerns about the care she received during her 2013 Caesarean. The Trust responded to her complaint on 10 June 2025.

11. Mrs O brought her complaint to us on 25 November 2025.

13. The law says a person must bring their complaint to us within one year of becoming aware of the issue. We cannot investigate complaints made outside of this time limit unless we consider there is a good reason to do so.

14. We spoke with Mrs O to understand the timeline of events and her concerns regarding care received from the Trust.

15. On 19 March 2013, Mrs O gave birth to her second child via Caesarean section. Following the procedure, Mrs O reported experiencing significant abdominal pain, swelling, and cramps persisting over several years. Despite seeking medical advice and undergoing various tests, including screenings for allergies and coeliac disease, the Trust was unable to determine the cause of her symptoms.

16. In November 2022, Mrs O underwent a scan while under the care of the Trust, and received the results in January 2023. At this point, she was informed the scan had detected a shadow and was advised to see a specialist. However, she experienced repeated delays and cancellations, which prompted her to seek private healthcare midway through 2023.

17. After an internal examination and a biopsy in September 2023, her private healthcare consultant informed her that her uterus was swollen. As a result of her symptoms, Mrs O elected to have a partial hysterectomy.

18. On 28 December 2023, Mrs O underwent a partial hysterectomy at a private hospital. The consultant informed her that her uterus had been severely twisted. Her twisted uterus had left no room for her bladder to fill and was the cause of the issues Mrs O was experiencing. The consultant concluded this was caused by a stitch being pulled too tightly during her caesarean in 2013.

19. Based on the information provided by Mrs O, we consider her date of knowledge to be 28 December 2023, when her private surgeon informed her of the likely cause of her longstanding health concerns. To be within our time limit, she needed to bring her complaint to us by 28 December 2024. Mrs O brought her complaint to us on 25 November 2025, approximately 11 months outside of our time limit.

20. Mrs O explained she raised her concerns with the Trust shortly after the 2023 surgery, which she estimates was around 4 January 2024. She recalls speaking with a member of staff at the maternity unit, who she says promised to provide her with her medical records upon their return from a week's holiday. Mrs O told us she did not receive these records and did not hear back from the Trust.

21. There is no evidence Mrs O followed up on the Trust’s actions.

22. On 12 February 2025 Mrs O formally raised her complaint with the Trust, approximately 13 months after she had reason to complain.

23. We asked Mrs O for the reasons for the delay between informally complaining to the Trust in January 2024 and her following it up with a formal complaint on 12 February 2025.

24. Mrs O explained she underwent three follow up surgeries, each requiring approximately six weeks of recovery before she was able to return to work. She also provided evidence which shows in April 2024 she was consulting solicitors about taking legal action about this matter.

25. We understand this was a difficult time for Mrs O, particularly when she was having and recovering from her surgeries. We consider it is reasonable to set aside her recovery time of approximately 18 weeks. We also acknowledge she likely continued to recover during the latter part of this period. Her engagement in the potential legal case in April shows she was capable of raising her complaint to the Trust earlier during this time.

26. The Trust issued its response on 10 June 2025, approximately four months after Mrs O made her complaint. As this time was outside of Mrs O’s control, we will also set aside this period.

27. Mrs O brought her complaint to us on 25 November 2025, approximately five months after she received the Trust’s complaint response. Mrs O did not provide any information to explain this delay.

28. We have carefully considered of all the available evidence, including the time Mrs O required to recover from her surgeries, and for the Trust to respond to her complaint. We have not seen sufficient reason to put aside our time limit for the delays in Mrs O making her formal complaint to the Trust and in bringing her complaint to us once she received the Trust’s final response.

Conclusion

29. We acknowledge the physical and emotional challenges Mrs O has faced during this time and understand how distressing it has been for her to have experienced longstanding health issues. However, based on the circumstances and the timing of events, we cannot take further action on her complaint as it was brought to us outside the statutory time limit.

30. We thank Mrs O for sharing her experiences with us and appreciate the opportunity to consider her complaint.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs O’s complaint about South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We have decided the complaint falls outside our time limit, and we have not seen sufficient grounds to put the time limit to one side.

2. We are sorry to hear about the circumstances of Mrs O’s complaint. We understand how worrying it must have been dealing with the long-term pain and discomfort she has experienced.