Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mr E complains the Trust did not explore the root cause of his back pain and heart palpitations between 8 January and 28 February 2019. He complains it misdiagnosed him with degeneration to the spine, and incorrectly advised him to take pain relief.

4. Mr E believes the Trust did not fully understand the pain he was experiencing. He says the Trust dismissed his concerns and he believes it assumed he was too young to develop long term back problems.

5. Mr E says because the Trust discharged him with advice to take pain relief, he started taking ibuprofen for a continuous period, which impacted his general health. Paying for private chiropractor fees is financially burdening on him.

6. He saw a new chiropractor in December 2020, who took some X-rays and diagnosed him with scoliosis (a spinal deformity where the spine is curved towards a side), tilted hips (where one hip is higher than the other causing problems in the lower back and nearby parts of the body), and a military spine (where the cervical spine in the neck has lost some of its curvature).

7. Mr E says he remains in continuous pain and discomfort. Sleeping is difficult because wakes up in pain, at a minimum of twenty times every night. This causes him distress and anxiety that it may cause his heart palpitations to worsen. He is unable to go to the gym or play sports as he fears it may trigger his condition, and he is anxious about the future because he is soon to be a father.

8. Mr E is seeking the following as an outcome to his complaint: · financial compensation including reimbursement for his private chiropractor fees, and additional compensation for pain and suffering · to be given the level of NHS care his national insurance contributions go towards

9. Mr E attended the Trust’s IPASS (Integrated Pain and Spinal Service) clinic on 8 January 2019 with complaints of constant back pain and heart palpitations. IPASS did an MRI on 28 February 2019. He was advised he had some degeneration of the spine and was discharged with advice to take pain relief.

10. Mr E sought private treatment from chiropractors. In December 2020, his chiropractor carried out an X-ray and found severe scoliosis. His chiropractor also diagnosed him with tilted hips and military spine.

11. Mr E complained to the Trust on 25 January 2021. The Trust provided its final response dated 19 February 2021.

14. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is unreasonable in the circumstances. We have discussed this with Mr E to understand his circumstances and the outcomes he wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

15. Mr E says he would like financial compensation for his pain and suffering and reimbursement of his private chiropractor fees. We have identified Mr E could potentially achieve this outcome by pursuing a clinical negligence claim. Mr E is also seeking the necessary NHS treatment he requires. We cannot recommend a Trust to implement an appropriate treatment plan, because this is a clinical decision.

16. We have considered the outcomes Mr E is seeking and balanced this with the potential barriers that he says would make it difficult for him to pursue legal action.

17. Mr E is concerned about any legal fees involved in pursuing a legal claim, however, he says if he had access to legal advice on a ‘no win no fee’ basis, he would consider this avenue. Clinical negligence claims can be funded by way of a ‘no win no fee’ agreement. However, only a solicitor would be able to confirm if they can take on Mr E’s claim on this basis.

18. While we could potentially recommend a financial remedy if we investigated and upheld Mr E’s complaint, we do not consider compensation in the same way a court can. A solicitor can arrange for Mr E to see a medical expert for a report to be compiled on his condition and prognosis. A court would be able to carefully consider this evidence and can assess an appropriate amount of compensation for the impact Mr E says it had and may continue to have on him, and for the losses he incurred in seeking private treatment. This could potentially be a substantial sum.

19. We cannot recommend a treatment plan for Mr E, however, a Trust may consider this as a by-product of any medical negligence claim.

20. In summary, we consider it would be reasonable for Mr E to pursue a legal claim to possibly achieve the outcomes he is seeking, and we will take no further action on this complaint.

1. We have carefully considered the complaint Mr E has brought to us about Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We were very sorry to hear about Mr E’s concerns.

2. We have decided Mr E could take legal action on the matter he has brought to us.