Newmedica

3. Mr Y complains about the Service’s care on 25 July 2021 after a left-eye cataract removal. Mr Y says because the Service did not seal the eye correctly, fluid escaped and he developed an infection. He also says he experienced excruciating pain, impaired vision and an inability to drive or read books, which is his passion. This affected his overall quality of life.

4. Mr Y says he has suffered from depression and distress as a result of the care he received. Mr Y says he also had to cancel a holiday during this period. In bringing his complaint to us, Mr Y is seeking financial compensation of £3,500.

5. Mr Y attended the Service for a procedure to remove a cataract from his left eye (cataracts are when the lens of the eye - a small, transparent disc - develops cloudy patches). After the surgery, Mr Y began to suffer from eye pain, which after further investigation resulted in four further rounds of surgery.

6. Mr Y raised a complaint to the Service on 26 August 2021 and received a final response on 8 February 2022.

9. The Law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has, or had, the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is, or was, unreasonable in the circumstances. We discussed this with Mr Y to understand his circumstances and the outcomes he wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look into.

10. In general terms, clinical negligence takes place when a patient who receives treatment becomes injured as a result of that treatment. Failure to carry out appropriate treatment could also amount to negligence.

11. Mr Y is complaining about the cataract surgery carried out by the Service. He says after the surgery he was in pain and developed an infection. After further investigation he needed more rounds of surgery to resolve this.

12. In deciding whether it is reasonable for a person to take legal action, we consider the level of the financial compensation they want and whether this is something that would be better achieved through legal action.

13. During our correspondence with Mr Y, we discussed the outcome he is looking for. He told us he wants £3,500 for expenses he has incurred and for the impact this has had on him.

14. Mr Y is seeking a significant amount of compensation and his complaint centres around clinical negligence in treatment.

15. Mr Y told us his main concern about seeking legal advice is the cost. He says he has approached a no win no fee solicitor but could not provide us with any evidence of what they told him, whether they considered his questions fully or whether he has sought any other advice. Although we cannot know if a no win no fee solicitor would accept Mr Y’s case, he needs to explore this before we can consider whether affordability is a barrier. Mr Y has not told us about any other barriers (such as mental/physical health barriers) that would prevent him from taking legal action.

16. Having taken all the circumstances into account, we consider it is reasonable for Mr Y to explore taking legal action to address his complaint and to get another opinion about how to achieve the outcome he wants. We can direct him to Action against Medical Accidents, which offers advice on the legal processes involved in clinical negligence cases.

17. In summary, we have decided Mr Y should explore taking legal action first, rather than us looking into the complaint now. However, if Mr Y ultimately decides not to take legal action, or does not achieve everything he wants through legal action, he can ask us to consider his complaint again. At that point, we would need to carefully consider the outcome of any legal action, the time which has elapsed (as time limits apply to NHS complaints) and specifically what Mr Y still hopes to achieve by coming to us.

18. We hope we have fully explained our decision and why we think it is best at this time for Mr Y to seek legal advice to achieve the outcomes he is looking for.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mr Y’s complaint about an ophthalmology service provider (specialising in eye disorders), Newmedica (the Service). We were sorry to hear about the experience Mr Y had and the challenges he now faces. We recognise he has been through a difficult and distressing time.

2. We consider Mr Y could take legal action on the matter he has brought to us. We have considered all the circumstances of the complaint and what Mr Y has told us and have decided to take no further action on his complaint. We are sorry for any additional distress this may cause and hope our statement below will explain how we have fully considered this.