West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

3. Mr T complains about his experience at the Trust on 29 April 2023. He says when he went to the emergency department (ED), staff did not clean his wounds or give him stitches. He says instead he waited seven hours before being discharged without any treatment apart from a tetanus injection.

4. Mr T says he now has lasting physical scars, including one on his face, which affect his confidence in everyday life. He explains he experienced a severe psychological impact, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of the ED staff’s negligent behaviour.

5. Mr T would like:

• a full investigation and explanation to understand what went wrong • the Trust to recognise and accept the errors it made • staff to receive feedback about his experience • an apology • a financial payment of around £9,950.

7. 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.

8. Mr T’s complaint about staff not cleaning his wounds or giving him stitches falls under the scope of clinical negligence. Mr T told us about the impact this had on him and he wants a large amount of compensation for this.

9. Mr T wants around £9,950 compensation. This is more than we would be likely to recommend if we were to investigate and uphold the complaint.

10. Mr T would also like a full investigation and explanation of what happened, to understand what went wrong. An investigation itself is not an outcome, it is the process that either we or a legal route would follow. Either route would also provide an explanation. Although legal action would not achieve learning or an apology directly, they could be achieved as a by-product.

11. Mr T told us he is not prepared to fund a legal case and instead wants us to give a full response to his complaint. We do not consider this to be a barrier to him taking legal action as he could approach a ‘no-win no-fee’ solicitor with his complaint.

12. In summary, we think it is reasonable for Mr T to look into taking legal action to try to achieve the financial compensation he is looking for. We will not be taking any further action at this time.

13. If Mr T finds there is not a legal route available to him after getting advice, he can bring his complaint back to us. He will need to return within a reasonable timescale because we have a one-year time limit for accepting complaints. We hope we have explained our decision clearly.

1. We have carefully considered Mr T’s complaint about West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust). We are very sorry to hear about what happened. We appreciate Mr T has been through a very difficult time.

2. We think Mr T could take legal action on the matter he has brought to us and this is the best way for him to take his concerns forward and get the outcomes he wants.