A practice in the Lancashire area

4. Mrs A complains about the care and treatment her husband, Mr A, received from the Practice. She specifically complains:

• when the GP examined Mr A, they failed to take into account he was having headaches and vomiting, and • the GP ignored Mrs A’s concerns about there being a more serious cause for her husband’s symptoms.

5. Mrs A says it was very distressing for her and her husband to later be told he had a subdural haematoma (a serious condition where blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain) and needed immediate surgery. Doctors had previously assured them Mr A’s symptoms were caused by an ear infection.

6. She says if the doctors had listened to the symptoms she and her husband explained, Mr A might have been diagnosed earlier, which could have prevented surgery or minimised the impact the surgery has had on his life.

7. Mrs A wants a minimum of £10,000 compensation for her husband being misdiagnosed to put towards his current and future healthcare needs. She also wants service improvements to help prevent similar events happening in future.

9. 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 A to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants.

10. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

11. Mrs A’s complaint relates to clinical issues regarding the Practice's care and treatment of her husband. She says the GP ignored her concerns about there being a more serious cause for Mr A’s symptoms, resulting in a misdiagnosis. Her husband was later found to have a bleed on the brain which required immediate surgery.

12. Mrs A says she wants a minimum of £10,000 as an outcome to her complaint and to see service improvement to prevent future similar events.

13. Mrs A could take legal action through a clinical negligence claim. While she could not take legal action for the sole purpose of achieving service improvements, such improvements may be a by-product (result) of legal action.

14. Mrs A says there are no barriers to prevent her from taking legal action.

15. Mrs A is seeking a large amount of financial compensation and there are no barriers making it difficult for her to take legal action. So, we consider it reasonable for her to do so. If there are any outstanding outcomes that cannot be achieved through the legal claim or if Mrs A is unable to pursue legal action for any reason, she can bring the complaint back to us to consider further.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mrs A’s complaint about a practice in the Lancashire area (the Practice).

2. We understand the events causing Mrs A to complain are very important to her. We accept how difficult it has been for Mrs A to bring this complaint to us, as this has been a troubling and traumatic time for her and her husband, Mr A.

3. We consider Mrs A could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us. We go on to explain the reasons for our decision.