Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

4. Miss N complains about the Trust’s refusal to provide corrective surgery. She also expresses concerns about a surgical procedure that happened in March 2023.

5. Miss N says her confidence has been affected and she is suffering from a lot of pain and discomfort. She says she has been a victim of clinical negligence. Miss N adds she has been unable to go into work and is no longer eligible for sick pay.

6. Miss N would like an acknowledgement, an apology and a compensation payment to recognise the distress she has suffered as a result of the Trust’s decision. She would also like the Trust to cover her sick pay.

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 have discussed this with Miss N to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look into.

10. In her email of 15 June 2023, Miss N indicated she will be pursing legal action. A successful clinical negligence claim could achieve a compensation payment, as well as an acknowledgement and apology as a result of a successful legal claim.

11. Miss N says she would like the compensation to cover the cost of sick pay and to recognise her pain and distress from undergoing surgical procedures, which she feels have been clinically negligent.

12. Miss N says there are no barriers to stop her from being able to pursue legal action. This is something she has considered and would consider further if we found no sign of failings from looking into this complaint.

13. In our email of 15 June 2023, we asked Miss N to provide further information about her indication to pursue legal action. Miss N did not provide this.

14. We considered whether Miss N may have concerns about the potential costs of a claim, but do not consider this reason would stop her from seeking legal advice at this stage, as she could engage in a ‘no win, no fee’ claim.

15. Miss N can contact her local Citizens Advice Bureau to get further advice and support before starting a medical negligence claim.

16. If Miss N finds there is no legal route available to her, she can bring her complaint back to us. The law says a complainant needs to make their complaint to us within one year of becoming aware of the problem. We cannot consider complaints brought to us after one year, unless we consider there is a good reason to do so.

17. We will not be taking further action on Miss N’s complaint at this stage. We are sorry to hear of the difficult events Miss N experienced and the significant impact this has had on her life.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Miss N’s complaint about Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust). We are sorry to hear how Miss N has been affected by the events she complains about. It is clear she had a difficult and upsetting experience and we appreciate these events had a significant impact on her life.

2. Based on the information we have seen, the nature of Miss N’s complaint and the outcomes she wants, we consider she could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us. We explain the reasons for our decision below.

3. Complainants give us valuable insight into the organisations we investigate, so we thank Miss N for sharing her experience with us. We appreciate this might not have been easy for her.