United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

3. Ms A complains the Trust dismissed and incorrectly diagnosed her medical symptoms in August 2020, June 2021, and June 2022 due to previous mental health issues.

4. She says she is concerned the Trust missed opportunities to diagnose health issues including slipped discs (an injury to the spine) and this affected other health conditions. She says the attitude of Trust staff affected her mentally and caused her embarrassment. She says she has lost faith in the Trust and will not get care from it again.

5. Ms A wants financial compensation and for the Trust to make service improvements.

6. In August 2020 the Trust admitted Mrs A as an inpatient to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) ward because of a history of ear problems. The ENT doctor diagnosed her with vertigo (dizziness and balance problems).

7. In June 2021, Mrs A went to the Emergency Department (the ED) because of breathing difficulties. In June 2022, Ms A went to the ED after a non-epileptic seizure (when control of the body is lost, causing shaking and other movements of the arms and legs).

10. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is unreasonable in the circumstances.

11. We explained to Ms A that we do not make findings of clinical negligence, but this is something that a court can do. We explained we can recommend compensation, but it may be in her best interests to explore getting legal advice first.

12. Ms A told us there are no barriers to stop her from getting legal advice and she has contacted a solicitor.

13. The time limits for taking legal action are strict. There is a limited window of opportunity to find out if this is the best route for her. We believe it is important she explores this option by getting legal advice while she still has time.

14. As well as financial compensation, legal action can achieve the service improvements she wants. Having taken all the circumstances into account, we consider it reasonable for Ms A to continue to explore the option of taking legal action.

15. If Ms A does not achieve all her outcomes by taking legal action, or she is not able to take legal action, she can bring her complaint back to us. At that point, we would need to consider the outcome of any legal enquiries and the outcomes she wants.

16. We also need to consider the time that has passed, as our time limits would still apply. It is important for Ms A to get legal advice as soon as possible.

17. We understand Ms A’s experience has caused her great distress. We hope this statement clearly explains our decision.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Ms A’s complaint about United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust). We are sorry to hear about the experience Ms A had and the challenges she now faces. We recognise she has been through a distressing time.

2. We consider Ms A may be able to take legal action on the matter she has brought to us and we have decided to take no further action for this reason. We are sorry for any additional distress this may cause but we hope our reasoning below explains how we have reached this decision.