Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mrs L complains about the care and treatment her husband Mr L received from the Trust in December 2020.

5. Mrs L complains the Trust:

· failed to carry out suitable investigations between 22 and 23 December 2020 and did not refer her husband to cardiology

6. Mrs L says, because no investigations were carried out, Mr L had a cardiac arrest (heart attack) in June 2021. Mr and Mrs L both suffer severe anxiety since Mr L’s cardiac arrest. Mr L has headaches and feels extremely tired. Mrs L also has severe tiredness, dizzy spells, feels shaky, has numbness and tingling in her left thumb, and tension headaches. Mrs L has been signed off work due to poor mental health, including severe anxiety and depression.

7. Mrs L is seeking an apology, an explanation of what happened, service changes, and a financial remedy.

8. In November 2003 Mr L had two cardiac arrests. Mr L had a triple bypass and continued to live a good quality of life.

9. In March 2020 Mr L had a cardiac arrest and had a second stent fitted.

10. In December 2020 Mr L had high blood pressure.

11. On 22 December Mr L experienced dizzy spells and was unable to stand. He had also vomited and had severe diarrhoea. Mr L was admitted to hospital. He had a blood test and was found not to be having another cardiac arrest. Mr L was prescribed medication to lower his blood pressure.

12. The following day Mr L was discharged from the hospital, but he was having chest pain and so spoke to his GP. Mr L also had leg swelling and was experiencing muscle cramps.

13. In early June 2021 Mr L had severe chest pains. The GP advised Mr L to be admitted to the hospital.

14. In the early hours of the following day, Mr L had a cardiac arrest. He had an angiogram, and a third stent was placed in the artery where the blockage was found.

16. We can consider complaints about organisations working on behalf of the NHS, and whether these organisations are responsible for failings. However, the law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has (or had) the option to take legal action. That is, unless we consider this is (or was) unreasonable in the circumstances. We have discussed this with Mrs L to understand the 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 into.

17. Mrs L complains the Trust failed to carry out a suitable investigation into Mr L’s heart in December 2020 and did not refer her husband to cardiology. She complains this resulted in Mr L having a cardiac arrest and they are both experiencing severe anxiety as a result. She questions why the Trust did not do any tests sooner.

18. We spoke to Mrs L about the financial remedy she wants to achieve. Mrs L explained she wants between £3,000 and £9,950 in financial remedy. She says this is for the pain and suffering she and her husband have had to endure.

19. Given the nature of the complaint, the seriousness of the impact she says resulted from this, and the financial remedy Mrs L wants, we consider Mrs L may be able to make a legal claim for medical negligence. Therefore, we need to consider if it is reasonable for her to take this route.

20. We asked her if there were any barriers to pursuing legal action. Mrs L confirmed there were no other barriers which would prevent her from seeking legal action. She also explained she found a solicitor who agreed to take on her case. Mrs L explained the solicitor was just waiting for a clinical adviser.

21. Overall, we consider Mrs L may have a legal route, and this is something she should explore. We appreciate she has made this complaint in extremely difficult circumstances but consider this may be the best and quickest way to achieve the outcome she is seeking.

22. We will not be taking further action at this time as further investigation could affect Mrs L bringing her case within the time limit for a legal claim, which relates to the rest of her complaint.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs L’s complaint about the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We were deeply sorry to hear of Mr and Mrs L’s difficulties with anxiety following Mr L’s cardiac arrest and the challenging times they are facing.

2. We have decided Mrs L could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us. We have looked at the complaint in detail and are content there is an alternative legal remedy, in the form of pursing a legal claim, available to Mrs L. We believe this is the best, and possibly quickest, action for Mrs L in the circumstances. Therefore, Mrs L should explore this option further.

3. We will explain our decision in detail below.