West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

3. Mrs U complains her husband got COVID-19 when he was at the Trust between 18 September and 25 September. She explains this caused him to have a heart attack and he died in late October.

4. Mrs U also complains the Trust did not help her husband to shower during his first admission from 18 September to 25 September. Mrs U said when he was discharged on 25 September and she helped him shower at home, she was shocked to see a painful large area of thrush on his genital area. She explains the Trust did not discharge him with cream or medication for this and she had to go and get something to help.

5. Mrs U would like the Trust to make service improvements. She would also like financial compensation.

6. Mr U was admitted to the Trust on 18 September 2020 after a fall. He got COVID-19 during this admission but was discharged on 25 September. He returned to the Trust on 5 October after becoming unwell with COVID-19 but went home the same day. He was readmitted on 6 October with difficulty breathing.

8. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint if there is (or was) a legal route available for the person affected to take, unless it is (or was) not reasonable for them to do so.

9. Clinical negligence is the failure to give appropriate care that results in harm to the patient. Mrs U could potentially make a clinical negligence claim against the Trust. Mrs U wants service improvements and £20,000 in compensation. Financial compensation could be achieved by making a clinical negligence claim.

10. We spoke to Mr U to understand if there are any barriers that might stop her from taking legal action. She told us she is very drained and it will be stressful for her to give the solicitor all the information. We explained a solicitor would work for her and would be able to offer legal advice and assistance for her specific circumstances.

11. Mrs U confirmed she contacted a solicitor before the Trust finished its serious incident investigation and was advised to wait for the results, and then follow the complaints process. She said she has not contacted a solicitor since then and she finds the process confusing. We explained we can give her with information that may help with the legal process. Mrs U said she will contact a ‘no win, no fee’ solicitor as she thinks it is a ‘good time to try again’.

12. We have not seen anything to suggest that it would be unreasonable for Mrs U to explore taking legal action. If successful, this route would be able to achieve a financial outcome as well as the possibility of service improvements. We advised Mrs U that she can return to us, for us to consider any issues not already considered through legal action. For this reason, we are not investigating the complaint further, but thank Mrs U for bringing her concerns to us.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mrs U’s complaint about West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust). We are sorry to hear of the events that led Mrs U to raise her complaint with us and thank her for sharing it with us.

2. We have decided Mrs U has a legal route available to her and it is reasonable for her to take it. For this reason, we have decided not to take further action on her complaint at this time. We have explained the reason for our decision below.