University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mr R complains on behalf of his father about the Trust’s care and treatment. He says:

• on 14 October 2021 the Trust told him his father was dying, in front of other people in the waiting room • on 15 October Mr I was discharged with no support or palliative care in place • a referral to the early intervention community team had not been completed to do a home stair test • the Trust did not help Mr I with transport home on discharge • on 20 October the Trust asked Mr I to attend a face-to-face appointment, despite him being too weak and unable to walk, only to be told no treatment would be given to him • after Mr I’s death in late October, the Trust did not offer bereavement counselling.

5. Mr R said he is traumatised from witnessing his father die in pain. Mr R said because no support or palliative care was given, the family had to become carers and do everything to take care of their father’s needs. Mr R said he was unable to say goodbye because he was so busy trying to put things in place that should have been done by the Trust. Mr R said he felt shock and felt like his father was treated like an animal. Mr R said he had to pay for a stairlift to be fitted himself which cost £5,590.

6. Mr R would like a large financial payment and for the cost of the stairlift to be reimbursed.

7. Mr I was admitted to the Trust on 7 October 2021.

8. On 14 October the Trust told Mr R his father had lung cancer and hypercalcemia malignancy (a condition where people with cancer have high levels of calcium). Mr R said the Trust told him his father was dying and would be going home to get palliative care while in a waiting room surrounded by other people.

9. The Trust discharged Mr I on 15 October. Mr R said Mr I was discharged without palliative care or any home support. Mr R said the Trust did not arrange transport or assistance on discharge, despite Mr I being unable to walk.

10. On 16 October, Mr R had a stairlift fitted which cost £5,590. Mr R said he had to arrange this himself because the Trust had not completed the referral to the early intervention community team.

11. On 20 October Mr I went to the Trust for a consultation. Mr I was very poorly and could not walk. Mr R said there was no need for an appointment because the Trust said it was not going to give any treatment.

12. At the end of October Mr I’s daughter contacted another Trust because she had concerns about Mr I’s health. The manager from the second Trust visited Mr I at home with a district nurse. The second Trust said Mr I was dying and it wrote a prescription for morphine and other medication. Mr I sadly died soon after this.

Clinical concerns

14. 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. We discussed this with Mr R to understand his circumstances and the outcomes he wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed, but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

15. Mr R thinks the Trust is guilty of neglect, because it did not give him end of life support or the facilities that would help him to care for his father. Mr R said the Trust failed Mr I.

16. Mr R told us he is looking for a large financial payment, of £10,000 or more. Mr R also wants reimbursement for the stairlift. These outcomes could potentially be achieved by making a clinical negligence claim.

17. We have looked at whether there are any factors that would mean it is not reasonable for Mr R to explore legal action. We asked Mr R if there were any barriers that would stop him from getting legal advice or taking legal action. Mr R thought the cost of legal action could be a problem.

18. While we appreciate this there are ‘no win, no fee’ solicitors that he could speak to. Mr R did not tell us about anything else that would stop him from exploring legal action. Based on this it does not seem unreasonable to expect Mr R to explore the option of taking legal action to achieve the financial payment he wants.

19. Once any legal action has finished, Mr R is able to ask us to look again at his complaint if there are any outcomes that have not been achieved by legal action. We told Mr R about our time limit for looking at complaints and advised him to return to us quickly if he needs to.

Communication, transport and bereavement counselling

20. Mr R complains the Trust did not offer him bereavement counselling and told him his father was dying in a waiting room full of other people. Mr R also complains the Trust did not help or transport Mr I on discharge despite him being unable to walk and needing help.

21. We do not think it would be right to investigate these parts of Mr R’s complaint separately from the care and treatment Mr I had. This is because these parts of the complaint alone, are likely to have had a low impact. In line with our current approach to complaints, we would not look at these parts alone because the impact is low.

22. If Mr R returns to us after exploring legal action, we will consider whether it is appropriate to investigate these points along with any further consideration of his complaint about Mr I’s care and treatment.

23. We understand Mr R has been through an incredibly difficult and distressing time. We apologise if our decision causes him any further distress.

1. We have carefully considered Mr R’s complaint about University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We are very sorry to hear of the circumstances that led Mr R to come to us. We recognise the distress Mr R’s complaint caused him and t the impact the events had on him.

2. Mr R could take legal action on some of the matters he has brought to us. We have decided to take no further action on Mr R’s complaint about his father’s, Mr I, current care and treatment.

3. It does not seem right for us to look at Mr R’s concerns about the Trust’s communication, bereavement counselling and transport while we are not looking at the issues with the care and treatment. We may consider these issues along with the issues about care and treatment if Mr R returns to us after exploring legal action and there are outcomes that he has not been able to get.