Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

3. Mr O complains about the care and treatment he had from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon (the consultant). Mr O complains the consultant did not operate on his knee from July to November 2021 when they had a window of opportunity for surgery because his skin was clear.

4. Mr O says because of this he did not have the surgery he needed, causing his mobility to get worse. Mr O later had a fall and is now ‘bed bound’. Mr O is also registered blind which means this had a bigger impact on him.

5. Mr O says he now relies on carers throughout the day. He says he lives in his lounge, has a bed and commode in this room as well as a bottle for urine. He describes this room as a prison cell.

6. Mr O says many expensive modifications have been made l to his home to help with his mobility. He says this could have been avoided if the consultant had done the surgery. Mr O says he pays £35 per week towards the cost of the carers.

7. Mr O has still not had the surgery and explains he needs to get his skin condition under control first and is seeing a dermatologist (skin specialist). He says he may never have the chance to have the surgery again because there is no guarantee his skin will clear. He says the steroid cream first used to successfully treat his skin cannot be used long term as it can be harmful and it loses its effectiveness as the skin gets used to it. Mr O says his mobility makes it difficult to go to the Trust for treatment so his dermatologist is using alternative medication he can take at home.

8. Mr O says even if he is able to have surgery, it comes with risks. He says his reduced mobility has caused the muscles in his legs to become weak and his legs are ‘bent’. He says even with surgery he may never be able to walk without help again.

9. Mr O says he is now morbidly obese and has diabetes and high blood pressure. Mr O feels this could have been avoided or reduced if he had the surgery earlier.

10. Mr O says he uses a powered wheelchair to leave the house. He says he used to get the bus but now relies on a local transport service.

11. Mr O says he will likely need walking aids, a powered wheelchair, and carers for the rest of his life. He feels he will never be able to swim again which he used to enjoy.

12. Mr O says his mental health has been badly affected. He says he went from being independent to being ‘bed bound’ and reliant on others. He says he used to be an outgoing person but now has no life and has thought about suicide. He says nights are the toughest and he often speaks to the Samaritans and his local mental health crisis team for support.

13. Mr O says he now struggles to keep himself busy. He says he is a recovering alcoholic and has not drunk alcohol since January 2019. He explains although these events have not led him to drink alcohol, there is a risk of this.

14. Mr O says his relationship with his partner broke down. He says his situation is distressing for his family and friends.

15. Mr O would like service improvements and a financial payment.

16. Mr O needed surgery on his knees, but because of his psoriasis (an inflammatory skin disease) and folliculitis (inflammation of the hair follicles) the consultant was not prepared to operate.

17. Mr O says he had a consultation in June 2021 and was told if his psoriasis cleared up he would be put to the top of the surgery list.

18. Mr O says his psoriasis and folliculitis eventually cleared up around July or August 2021 but he was not offered the surgery. By November 2021 the psoriasis flared up again.

20. 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 Mr O 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.

21. Mr O told us he wants service improvements and to ‘go to court’ because he feels he should be given compensation and damages for the consultant’s ‘neglect’.

22. If we were to uphold Mr O’s complaint we could recommend service improvements and a financial payment but we cannot ‘sue’ the Trust. Only a court can take this kind of action. A court can also award financial payments.

23. We asked Mr O how much compensation he would like and explained our approach to financial payments. Mr O told us he thinks he has been significantly affected by what happened and likely will be in the future. He is looking for a large financial payment. A court is often able to recommend a larger payment than us.

24. We generally do not recommend a financial payment for future losses. Mr O might be able to achieve this by making a clinical negligence claim. A court can award compensation for past and future pain and suffering, as well as for any care and treatment needs. A court can award compensation for any future private treatment that Mr O may need.

25. A court would not recommend for the Trust to make service improvements and these cannot be directly achieved by making a clinical negligence claim. But, they can be achieved as a by-product of successful legal action. Mr O can bring any outcomes he has not achieved through the legal route back to us to consider.

26. Mr O told us he has spoken to three ‘no win-no fee’ solicitors who specialise in clinical negligence orthopaedic claims. Mr O wants to explore this option more fully.

27. We understand the solicitors Mr O spoke to did not take his case on and told him they needed more evidence before they can do this. Mr O told us this was just an initial enquiry by phone and he has nothing in writing from the solicitors.

28. It would be helpful to see what advice the solicitors gave about Mr O’s possible claim before we can consider it further.

29. Mr O was hoping we could provide something to encourage a solicitor to take his case on. We appreciate Mr O’s thinking, but it is not our role to do this as we are an impartial organisation.

30. As Mr O seems to have only had initial conversations with solicitors by phone and he has a strong desire to pursue this route, we think he has not fully explored it yet. If, after exploring his options fully and he is not able to take legal action, he can come back to us.

31. We appreciate Mr O is registered blind and this may mean it is easier for him to discuss things with solicitors by phone. It would be helpful to see what a solicitor’s advice or decision is in writing if Mr O does choose to come back to us. We understand Mr O has an advocate who might be able to help with this. There are other advocacy services that may also be able to help.

32. We wish Mr O all the best and are sorry to hear about his experience.

1. We have carefully considered Mr O’s complaint about Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust). Mr O could take legal action so we will not investigate his complaint further.

2. We were sorry to hear about what happened and appreciate how difficult a time Mr O had and continues to have. We understand the significant impact Mr O’s lack of mobility has had on his life, especially as he is registered blind. Because of this, it may be best for Mr O to first pursue his concerns by making a clinical negligence claim. We will explain this in more detail below.