London Ambulance Service NHS Trust

3. Mr B complains about the service the Trust gave in May 2022 when he called 999 for his wife. He complains the Trust told him to call NHS 111 instead. After this, the Trust agreed Mrs B needed an ambulance. Mr B says it took too long to arrive and the Trust categorised his call correctly.

4. Mr B complains when the ambulance arrived there was more delay as the crew said they needed a specialist ambulance to transport his wife. It took more than five hours before Mrs B got to hospital.

5. Mr B says the delay meant he had to watch his wife experience pain and distress. He says seeing her in distress was very upsetting for him and he still remembers the time clearly.

6. Mr B says the delays with the ambulance affected the treatment Mrs B got in hospital. He asks if earlier treatment could have saved her life and feels he will never know what difference this could have made. This uncertainty is very distressing for him.

7. Mr B wants the Trust to admit it got things wrong and to pay him compensation.

10. 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 do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

11. We have discussed this with Mr B to understand his circumstances and the outcomes he wants. Mr B says he does not want a lot of money but says it is right for the Trust to pay him some compensation for his and his family’s loss.

12. Mr B does not know how much compensation he wants. He said Mrs B’s funeral cost a lot and he wants money to pay for a headstone. He also said losing his wife has affected him because her benefits helped towards the household costs.

13. Mr B says he has thought about legal action but had not got advice on this. He asks how much it would cost and how long it would take. He says he cannot afford to lose money. He asks if legal action would take a long time and if it could get the result he wants.

14. Mr B could take legal action by making a claim for clinical negligence. A successful claim could mean financial compensation is awarded to him, which is the main outcome he is looking for. If a legal case is successful, it could also mean there is recognition of what went wrong.

15. Mr B says he does not know if he can afford to pay for legal action. We told him he can contact a solicitor for legal advice free of charge. He could also get legal representation through a ‘no-win-no-fee’ service meaning he would not pay any upfront costs.

16. How long legal action can take can vary and Mr B can find out more by taking legal advice. Using our service may not mean a quicker result for him.

17. It would be reasonable for Mr B to explore taking legal action and his complaint is in time for him to do so. We have already provided Mr B with the contact details of organisations who can help.

18. If Mr B is not able to take legal action or does not get the outcomes he wants, he can contact us again. We cannot look at what a court has already made a decision on, but we can see if there is anything left that we can look at.

19. If Mr B contacts us again, he needs to do so as soon as he can because we have a time limit for looking at complaints. We can put our time limit to one side but there has to be good reason for this.

1. We have carefully considered Mr B’s complaint about the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (the Trust). Mr B can take legal action on his complaint. For this reason, we will not take his complaint any further. We have explained our decision in detail below.

2. We understand how important Mr B’s complaint is to him and that he wanted the very best care for his wife, Mrs B. He has told us he wants to achieve justice for what they both went through. We are very sorry for his loss.