University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mrs W complains about the care provided by Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust (the Trust) when she attended for treatment for severe back pain, thought to be cauda equina (compressed nerves in the lower back). She says the Trust made decisions that were damaging to her health because it did not properly check her medical history.

4. Specifically, she complains:

· her opiate pain medication was stopped unnecessarily

· her medical history was ignored and when she attempted to correct the medical staff she was ignored.

· the medical staff discounted the suggestion of cauda equina based on false, faulty, or misleading information

5. As a result, she says preventative surgery was cancelled incorrectly.

6. Mrs W is now permanently paralysed in her lower limbs and suffers mental trauma as a result. She believes her condition could have been averted if the Trust had taken correct measures. This has impacted significantly on her family life, as she was previously the primary carer for her husband and her adult children, who have Down’s Syndrome.

7. As a result, Mrs W would like systemic improvements and an apology. She would also like financial compensation to address the impact this has had on her caring responsibilities. She would also like disciplinary action taken against the doctors involved.

9. 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 Mrs W 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.

10. Mrs W has informed us the Trust did not adequately provide care and treatment for her cauda equina. As Mrs W says she has suffered harm because of the care she received, we consider she could potentially pursue her complaint via a clinical negligence claim.

11. Mrs W told us she is seeking compensation to fund the additional support she now needs because of her injury. She says the injury, and the limitations this has caused, will affect her for the rest of her life.

12. We are sorry to learn of the difficulties Mrs W has experienced since her injury, and we can only imagine how difficult this time has been for her.

13. We discussed the amount of compensation Mrs W is looking to achieve, and she told us she did not know. Having carefully thought about what Mrs W has told us, we believe she is seeking a substantial amount of money because she would like compensation to fund her long term care needs.

14. We cannot make an organisation pay compensation in the way that the courts can do. The amounts we might be able to recommend are often not as significant as a court might award. This suggests we might not be able to achieve the outcome Mrs W seeks to resolve her complaint. It seems legal action might be more suited to achieving the compensation she is seeking.

15. Mrs W has advised that she has instructed a solicitor to pursue this matter through the courts, and that this process is ongoing.

16. Based on all the information Mrs W has provided to us, we do not think we should look into the complaint further. This is because we believe it is reasonable for Mrs W to potentially get an answer to her concerns by seeking legal advice and/or taking legal action. We will not take any further action on this basis.

17. We have taken into account that Mrs W seeks an apology and service improvements, as well as compensation. Those outcomes are sometimes things we can achieve that legal action might not. However, we consider Mrs W is seeking a significant amount of compensation and is in the process of taking legal action. We consider it is reasonable for her to continue to look into that route.

18. If Mrs W explores the legal route and she discovers it does not resolve her complaint for her, she can bring her complaint back to us. If she were to come back to us in future, we would keep in mind we cannot consider issues which the courts have examined.

19. If Mrs W brought her complaint back to us, we may also need to consider our time limit. The law says a person needs to make their complaint to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the problem. We can put this time limit to one side but only if it is reasonable to do so.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs W’s complaint about Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust (the Trust). We consider Mrs W could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us.

2. We have decided not to consider Mrs W’s complaint further. This is because we consider it reasonable for her to potentially get an answer to her concerns by seeking legal advice and/or taking legal action. We acknowledge the emotional and physical impact Mrs W’s treatment has had on her. We are sorry to hear about her experience.