Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

3. Miss A complains that between February and May 2023 the Trust discharged her father prematurely three times. Miss A says her father had to go into a nursing home and he died two weeks later. She says seeing him so anxious, distressed and upset caused her distress. Miss A wants a financial payment for her father’s estate, for the Trust to make service improvement, and to apologise.

4. Mr A was having difficulties breathing and was admitted to the Trust in late February 2023. He was diagnosed with and treated for COVID-19. The Trust discharged him in early March and readmitted him later that day. The Trust discharged him again at the end of March. Mr A had a fall on 17 April and the Trust readmitted him. He was discharged again in mid May and sadly died two weeks later.

6. 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.

7. We can clearly see from what Miss A told us that this experience was very distressing for her and her father. Miss A told us she feels the Trust neglected her father and this caused distress and anxiety to him and his family.

8. Miss A told us she wants compensation for her father’s estate, for what she feels was significant negligence that had a big impact on his condition. This is something that could be handled by legal action. As explained above, by law we cannot investigate where there is a legal option available. Miss A told us there is nothing stopping her from getting legal advice.

9. The time limits for taking legal action are strict. We believe it is important for Miss A to explore this option by getting legal advice while she still has time.

10. We considered all the details of Miss A’s complaint and the information she gave us. We think it is reasonable for her to take legal action and this route is the most appropriate for achieving the financial compensation she is looking for. She may also achieve an apology and service improvements as a result of legal action.

11. If she does not achieve the outcomes she wants or is not able to take legal action, she can bring her complaint back to us. If this were to happen, we would need to carefully consider the outcome of any legal enquiries and the outcomes she wants.

12. We would also need to consider the time that passed because our 12-month time limit for taking on complaints would still apply. Miss A has until March 2024 to bring a complaint back to us. It is important that she gets legal advice quickly to avoid any delays.

13. We understand this was a very distressing experience for the family and we appreciate the time Miss A has taken to explain the details of her complaint to us. We hope this statement clearly explains our decision and we wish Miss A all the best with legal action.

1. We have carefully considered Miss A’s complaint about Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We are sorry to hear about her father’s, Mr A, experience when he was an inpatient at the Trust and of the impact and distress this caused him and his family.

2. We have decided it is best for Miss A to get legal advice to try to achieve the financial compensation she wants. We hope our explanation below explains why we think this is the right thing for her to do.