South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mrs T complains about the way the Trust handled the emergency call her father made on 8 September 2022. Specifically, she complains:

• the call was not put through to the ambulance service immediately • about how the call handler conducted the call • it took too long for the ambulance to arrive despite it being coded as category one and a second crew was available but was not sent to assist her father.

4. As a result of the above, Mrs T says:

• her father died prematurely • she and her family missed out on being with him in his final moments and he died alone which has magnified and prolonged their grieving process • she and her family feel shocked and traumatised by the lack of care her father received when he was at the end of his life • she feels upset when she hears ambulance sirens and prays they make it on time to others • she is worried about the quality of care she could receive if she or her family ever need emergency services.

5. Mrs T is seeking an apology, service improvements and financial remedy.

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 have discussed this with Mrs T to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

8. Mrs T told us she is seeking compensation in the sum of £10,000 or more as she believes the Trust made a catalogue of errors in relation to her father’s care. She notes that the Trust admitted that certain things went wrong and in particular, the ambulance did not arrive at her father’s address within the category two response time. She thinks her father might not have died if the ambulance had arrived on time.

9. She said the outcomes she is seeking are an apology, service improvements and financial remedy and all three are a priority for her. We discussed that at this stage it may be more appropriate to seek legal advice with a view to taking legal action particularly because of the Trust’s admission that things went wrong, the high level of compensation she is seeking and the serious impact and there are no barriers to Mrs T pursuing a legal claim.

10. We appreciate the prospect of speaking to other professionals about the matter is distressing and feels overwhelming to Mrs T and she has a busy family life. She also mentioned not having enough money to pursue legal action. We would recommend that Mrs T speaks to a solicitor about this in further detail, we understand that claims can often be pursued on a no win no fee basis. We reassured Mrs T that just as we have supported her in explaining our processes, the outcomes we can achieve and requested information from her when we need it, legal professionals would work similarly if/when litigating.

11. As discussed, it may be the case that Mrs T receives a further apology and service improvements as a result of a successful claim.

12. If Mrs T has any outstanding outcomes which have not been achieved through legal action, she can return to us with her complaint. If she wants to do this, we would urge her to do so as soon as possible, as we usually only consider complaints made to us within a year of an individual becoming aware they have a reason to complain. Taking legal action will not act as a negative factor in respect of timing, so long as she returns to us promptly after it. If Mrs T does take legal action, we would need to wait for this to conclude before we consider if any issues are outstanding.

13. We signposted Mrs T to a charity named AvMa in case she wanted support with how to go about starting legal proceedings and she said she would make contact with this organisation.

14. We consider that legal action is appropriate for all aspects of Mrs T’s complaint and that it may address all the outcomes she is seeking therefore we have decided not to consider the complaint further.

15. We appreciate how distressing the events have been and continue to be for Mrs T and her family and are grateful to Mrs T for bringing this complaint to our attention.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs T’s complaint about South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) We consider legal action is the most appropriate way forward based on the impact claimed, outcomes sought and level of compensation Mrs T is seeking.

2. We are very sorry to hear that Mrs T’s father died and acknowledge that she and her family feel shocked and traumatised by the care he received when he was at the end of his life. We acknowledge Mrs T’s family feels incredibly distressed that they missed out on being with him in his final moments which has prolonged their grieving process. We understand that matters are still affecting them and hope Mrs T finds out decision helpful.