A practice in the Buckinghamshire area

3. Mrs E complains about aspects of the Practice’s care and treatment of Mr R from February to April 2021. Mrs E says the Practice did not fully investigate Mr R’s symptoms and failed to do further investigations when needed. Mrs E complains the Practice:

• did not follow a treatment plan for Mr R • failed to send Mr R for repeat investigations after abnormal results • failed to refer Mr R to hospital when he had chest pains • failed to diagnose ascites (abnormal build-up of fluid) • failed to diagnose auto immune liver disease.

4. Mr R sadly died in early May 2021. Mrs E says his death may not have happened if the Practice had done more. She told us this had a devastating impact on her wellbeing. Mrs E has not returned to work and says she experiences sleepless nights and depression.

5. Mrs E would like to understand the Practice’s decision-making, accept its errors and improve so others do not suffer. She would like financial compensation of £10,000 or more.

7. The Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 (the law) says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has the option to take legal action, unless we consider it is not reasonable for them to. We do not base our decision on how successful legal action would be, but on whether it would be reasonable to take legal action.

8. We discussed this with Mrs E to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she is hoping to achieve. Mrs E told us she has approached a solicitor to seek legal advice. Mrs E did not tell us there were any barriers to stop her doing this. Legal action could help her to get the financial compensation she is looking for.

9. Mrs E is also looking for other outcomes as explained above. If a court cannot achieve these outcomes for her, she may wish to return to us and ask us to investigate.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mrs E’s complaint about a practice in the Buckinghamshire area (the Practice). We have decided not to consider the complaint further because Mrs E could take legal action to pursue her concerns.

2. We are sorry to hear about the circumstances of Mrs E’s complaint. We offer her our deepest condolences for the death of her father, Mr R. We recognise how important this complaint is to her and how she has been affected.