Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mrs D complains on behalf of her husband, Mr D, about the following care and treatment he received from the Trust from May 2020 to June 2020. She complains that: • the Trust’s communication was poor as it failed to update her on her husband’s treatment and condition • The Trust carried out an operation to remove the infected shunt and insert an external ventricular drainage, without taking alternative professional advice to determine whether the procedure was necessary.

5. Mrs D says her husband’s health has now significantly deteriorated, and she has become his full-time carer, which means they have both lost their independence. She says she also suffered distress and worry because of the Trust’s poor communication.

6. Mrs D is seeking service improvements from the Trust.

7. On 15 May 2020, Mr D was admitted to hospital. Mr D had developed a headache, fever and photophobia (increased sensitivity to light). Prior to his admission, his GP gave him antibiotics (co-amoxiclav). He was initially reviewed by an Emergency Department (ED) specialist registrar who suspected he had meningitis.

8. On 16 May 2020, Trust staff diagnosed Mr D with meningitis and decided he needed surgical treatment. They removed a shunt, a medical device which is inserted into the brain to relieve pressure, and put a drain in place. The Trust discharged Mr D on 27 May 2020.

9. On 28 June 2020, Mrs D raised her official complaint with the Trust. The Trust responded on 5 November 2020.

10. Mrs D was unhappy with the response and sent a follow up complaint on 3 December 2020. The Trust provided its final response on 12 April 2021. In November 2021, Mrs D brought her complaint to us.

13. The law says a person needs to make their complaint to us within a year of becoming aware of the problem. We cannot investigate complaints brought to us after one year, unless we consider there is a good reason to do so. We have discussed this with Mrs D to understand the reasons why she did not complain to us sooner. We have also considered the time it took for the Trust took to respond to her complaint.

14. Mrs D was aware she was unhappy with the Trust’s actions at the time of her husband’s treatment in May 2020. This means to be in time she needed to come to us by May 2021. She did not approach us until November 2021, so her complaint is six months out of time.

15. We asked Mrs D to tell us about the reasons for the delay. She explained the Trust took a significant amount of time to investigate her complaint and told her she had six months to bring her complaint to us. Further, following her husband’s operation she has been his main carer which has been time consuming. Finally, she says she had to ‘mentally put the complaint to one side’ as she ‘did not want to relive the period when her husband was admitted’.

16. The records show Mrs D first complained to the Trust in June 2020. It provided an initial response to her complaint in October. Mrs D sent a second complaint letter in December. The Trust agreed to investigate her concerns further and provided its final response in April.

17. In total, the Trust took ten months to complete its investigation. The records suggest Mrs D submitted her second complaint promptly and did not cause any unnecessary delays during the complaints process. We accept this ten month delay was outside of her control and it is a good reason to account for this delay.

18. Mrs D did not submit her complaint to us until November 2021, seven months after receiving her final response. We next carefully considered the reasons for this delay.

19. We are very sorry to hear how upsetting and difficult it was for Mrs D following her husband’s operation. We appreciate caring for her husband was her main focus, and it would have been difficult to relive these events when she complained to the Trust and us.

20. It is important to note Mrs D brought her complaint to the Trust independently. This demonstrates she was able to engage with the organisation about her complaint without any additional help. This was at the time her husband had been discharged from hospital and she was his main carer. As her circumstances did not change, it is difficult for us to say she could not have also come to us sooner with her concerns.

21. We have reviewed the Trust’s final response. We can see it did incorrectly advise Mrs D she had six months to complain to us. That said, Mrs D submitted her complaint form in November 2021. This was seven months after receiving her final response, so she was also outside of this suggested time limit.

22. Taking all this into account, we have not seen a good reason to explain the seven month delay after the Trust completed its investigation. That said, we have decided not to put our time limit to one side. We recognise it has taken Mrs D a great amount of effort to speak to us about her complaint, particularly as she struggles to relive the events of her husband’s care. We are grateful for the time she has taken to bring her concerns to our attention.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs D’s complaint about the care her husband, Mr D, received from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust).

2. We are very sorry to hear Mrs D feels the Trust did not update her on her husband’s treatment plan. This must have been very worrying and frustrating for her at the time of his treatment. Additionally, we are sorry she feels Trust staff incorrectly carried out surgery to remove her husband’s shunt. Mrs D told us her husband now requires full time care and his health has significantly deteriorated. We do not wish to underestimate the significant distress this continues to cause her and her family.

3. This complaint falls outside of our 12 month time limit. We have carefully considered the circumstances, including Mrs D’s reasons for the delay and the time it took for the Trust to investigate this complaint. We have not seen a good reason to put our time limit to one side, so we have decided not to consider this complaint further. We will explain our decision in more detail below.