North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mr R complains that, in May 2021, it took an ambulance two hours to arrive. Mr O arrived at hospital approximately four hours after his family called 999. Mr R does not feel his son’s symptoms were correctly categorised by 999 call operators. He believes the spinal cord injury his son has received should have been categorised as a priority 1 case. The Trust use the NHS Pathways Triage System and prioritise patients on a sale of 1-3 (1 being the highest priority). Mr R complains the Trust initially considered Mr O to be level 3 severity. It upgraded this to level 2 based on a later call with a clinician, but Mr R complains that call handlers should have been able to use ‘common sense’ to make sure the 999 staff determined his severity level to be the highest possible. He believes this would have meant that an ambulance arrived sooner.

4. Mr O fell and suffered a spinal cord injury. As a result of this, he is now tetraplegic. Mr R has told us that this has turned the world of the family ‘upside down’. Mr O has life changing injuries which significantly impact his day-to-day functional abilities. Mr R believes his son’s injuries may have been less severe if he received treatment earlier.

5. Mr R believes that an overhaul of the triage system used by 999 and 111 call operators is the solution needed to avoid multiple deaths in the future. Having spoken with Mr R, he has reiterated this and the fact that he does not believe the triage process is adequate in its current structure. He feels that clinicians should be involved at an earlier stage which would allow for more autonomous decisions.

7. Section 3.13 of our Service Model Guidance states, ‘There will be occasions when we decide that there are other reasons why we should not investigate a complaint made to us’. There are several examples referenced within this section and one of those is, ‘if the outcome sought is not achievable’. In this case, we will not be able to achieve the outcome Mr R and his family want. As a result, it is not possible for us to investigate his complaint.

8. We can make recommendations to specific, individual organisations, for changes to processes that may result in service improvements. The Pathways Triage System is a nationally defined process, and it is beyond the scope of this complaint for us to make recommendations about which triage system the NHS, or this Trust, should use. In this instance, the desired outcome that Mr R is looking to achieve is something we are unable to influence.

9. The NHS Pathways Triage System is national guidance, which is used by the Trust, along with all ambulance Trusts. The Department for Health and Social Care own the NHS Pathways Triage System. NHS England commission it.

10. Mr O’s injury has hugely impacted both him and his family. We wish him well with his recovery. However, we cannot investigate as we cannot achieve the outcome Mr R wants.

11. While we realise Mr R is disappointed by our decision, it is important to note that there is a more appropriate route for him to raise his concerns. Mr R has liaised with his local MP, who may be able to push for change about this issue.

12. Mr R could raise his concerns directly with the Department for Health and Social Care, either independently or via his MP. If they were unhappy with its response, there is potential for his MP to bring this issue to us as a Parliamentary complaint against this organisation.

13. Mr R has told me that he and his son are exploring potential treatment options and we wish them well with this.

1. We have carefully considered Mr R’s complaint about North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Mr R raised this on behalf of his son, Mr O. We understand Mr O’s injury has significantly impacted both his own and his family’s lives. We were sorry to learn about the huge impact his has had on them and recognise what a difficult time this has been.

2. We are unable to investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome Mr R wants.