University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mrs I complains clinicians at the Trust did not take her endometriosis (a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes) seriously. Mrs I says her consultant did not make follow-up calls about Mrs I trying to get pregnant and she was forced to chase the Trust for further appointments and information.

4. Mrs I also complains the Trust did not take her concerns seriously after she had a baby and told her to persevere with her condition. Mrs I was later referred to a different trust where clinicians advised she should not have been told to manage her condition and they would recommend surgery.

5. Mrs I says the Trust went against national guidance in not treating her and were negligent.

6. Mrs I says the delay in receiving treatment has caused her daily pain and discomfort. Mrs I tells us if the Trust had added her to the waiting list for surgery earlier, she may have had the necessary treatment by now. Instead, she was still waiting. She says this may affect her ability to have another child.

7. Mrs I tells us she wants the Trust to accept it was negligent in not treating her endometriosis.

8. Mrs I was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2018 and had a phone consultation with the Trust in May 2020. Mrs I says the Trust did not arrange the follow-up appointment as promised and it cancelled the appointment she was eventually given for January 2021 because of an IT system changeover.

9. Mrs I became pregnant and had her baby in 2021. The Trust rebooked the cancelled appointment for October 2021 and Mrs I received treatment then. In November 2021, Mrs I had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan (a type of scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body) and the Trust said there was no evidence of active endometriosis.

10. Mrs I was eventually discharged from the Trust following an appointment in May 2022. The Trust say there was a delay in offering Mrs I this appointment because of capacity constraints (for example, shortages of staff or equipment).

11. Mrs I says she continued to have pain relating to endometriosis and her GP referred her to a second Trust.

12. The second trust put Mrs I on an urgent two-week pathway (treatment course) because of a suspicious area of her cervix (the lower part of the womb). Mrs I tells us the second trust said she should not have been told to ‘manage her symptoms’ and she should have been offered treatment.

13. Following her visit to the second Trust, Mrs I is still on the waiting list for treatment.

16. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint if 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 I 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.

17. Mrs I is complaining the Trust did not rearrange her appointments and this led to a delay in treatment. Mrs I believes this delay may have caused difficulties when she tried to conceive a baby. Mrs I may be able to pursue a legal claim in relation to the issues she raises about the delay of her treatment.

18. Mrs I has continued to experience problems relating to her endometriosis following her discharge from the Trust. She was referred to a second trust which has provided treatment. Mrs I says she believes the Trust were negligent in their care and treatment. She may have a legal claim for clinical neglect.

19. We have considered whether legal action is available to Mrs I and if it would be reasonable for her to pursue this. We have not seen anything to suggest it would not be reasonable for Mrs I to pursue legal action. If Mrs I is unable to resolve her complaint through legal action, she can bring her complaint back to us for consideration.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mrs I’s complaint about University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We are sorry to learn of Mrs I’s experiences and her concerns about the care the Trust gave her.

2. We consider Mrs I could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us. So, we have decided not to take further action on her complaint at this time.