University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

5. Mrs H complains about the Trust and aspects of the care and treatment it provided to her late husband, Mr H, from 21 to 24 March 2020.

6. Specifically, she complains:

• Mr H was inappropriately discharged from hospital when his troponin (type of protein found in the heart muscles) level was too high.

• The self-discharge paperwork was not completed and he was sent home alone despite the risks to his health.

• Mr H was not made aware of the risks and threat to his life before he was discharged.

7. Mrs H says Mr H died as a result and this has been devastating for her and their children.

8. Mrs H wants the Trust to explain what happened and apologise. She also wants to see service improvements when patients are discharged and to get financial compensation.

9. On 21 March 2020, Mr H was admitted to hospital with chest pains.

10. The Trust carried out several investigations and diagnosed Mr H with myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle). He was discharged from hospital on 24 March 2020.

11. Mr H sadly died later that month.

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

15. Mrs H thinks the Trust’s actions led to Mr H’s sad death. We are satisfied there are potential legal routes available for Mrs H to pursue her concerns.

16. We have discussed this with Mrs H to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. Mrs H wants several outcomes, including financial compensation. Although she cannot give us an exact figure of how much compensation she wants, this appears to be a higher amount.

17. When we discussed the legal route with Mrs H, she told us she is not sure if it would be successful and she may not have the money to pursue it.

18. We accept what Mrs H has told us. We do not look at the merits of a case, only if there is a legal route available and, if there is, we expect someone to pursue it, unless there is good reason not to.

19. We also accept the legal route can be expensive but there are options to explore, such as no win no fee solicitors.

20. Having considered what Mrs H has told us, we do not think there are any barriers preventing her pursuing legal action.

21. Mrs H wants financial compensation as an outcome to her complaint and this is something she could get through legal action. While we are able to recommend financial compensation if we uphold a complaint, the courts can also recommend this and Mrs H appears to be seeking a higher figure.

22. She also wants an explanation for what happened, an apology and service improvements. These actions may not be directly achievable through the courts, but they could happen as a result of a successful legal claim.

23. Also, there is limited time for Mrs H to make a legal claim and we do not want our consideration to remove that as an option for her when it may provide some of the outcomes she is looking for.

24. Based on what we have considered, we think it would be reasonable for Mrs H to pursue legal action.

25. If Mrs H is unable to take the legal route and wants us to consider her complaint again, she can contact us. In that event, it is important Mrs H approaches us as soon as possible. This is because we can usually only look at complaints raised within 12 months of the person becoming aware of the issue, although we can sometimes extend our time limit if we feel it is reasonable to do so.

26. We thank Mrs H for bringing her complaint to us and for speaking to us about this in detail. We recognise this has been difficult for her. We are sorry if our decision causes any further upset, but it is important we consider cases and act within the law. We hope this statement clearly explains the reasons why we will not be considering her concerns further at this time.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mrs H’s complaint about University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). Having done so, we consider Mrs H could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us.

2. Mrs H raises concerns about her late husband, Mr H, being inappropriately discharged from the Trust. She says this led to Mr H’s death.

3. We accept how important Mrs H’s complaint is to her and recognise this has been a difficult time. We are sorry to hear of Mr H’s sad death and the impact this has had on Mrs H and her family.

4. We consider legal action may provide the financial compensation she wants. If she is unable to achieve any of the outcomes she is looking for through the legal process, she can return to us without delay to ask us to consider her concerns. We have decided not to consider the complaint further.