3. Dr O complains the Trust did not ask for urgent gastrological investigations as agreed in her outpatient appointment on 2 November 2021. She says this failing led to her health deteriorating and her symptoms worsening. She says she suffered physiological harm as she lived for several months with a risk of organ failure. This led her to seek private healthcare.
4. Dr O would like to see evidence of an action plan the Trust has put in place to stop urgent referrals being delayed in the future.
5. On 8 September 2021, Dr O’s GP referred her urgently to a gastroenterology clinic because her test results were abnormal. The gastroenterology clinic referred her for urgent gastrological tests on 2 November 2021. Between December 2021 and January 2022, Dr O and her GP exchanged many emails and phone calls with the gastroenterology clinic chasing the urgent referral.
6. Dr O made a formal complaint to the Trust on 24 January 2022 and she received confirmation of her referrals on 1 February 2022.
8. Before we decide whether we should investigate a complaint, we consider whether we could achieve a satisfactory result for the complainant with minimal intervention.
9. On 5 and 9 January 2023, we called Dr O to discuss her complaint. We discussed the outcomes she wanted. She said she was happy for us to ask the Trust whether it would consider sending evidence of the action plan it had put in place following her complaint.
10. We did this and the Trust agreed to compile the relevant information and send it to Dr O.
11. Based on the evidence we have seen and the steps the Trust has agreed to take, we have decided not to take further action on this complaint as it has been resolved. We hope this gives Dr O the outcomes she wanted.
1. We have carefully considered Dr O’s complaint about Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We were sorry to hear of Dr O’s concerns about the care she received and the distress she experienced. We have agreed some steps with the Trust to resolve Dr O’s complaint. Dr O told us she wanted the Trust to provide evidence of the procedural changes it said it had made. The Trust has agreed to do this.
2. We are satisfied that the steps we have agreed with the Trust resolve Dr O’s complaint. We will take no further action.