King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mrs A complains about the care and treatment her late mother, Mrs B, received from the Trust between 27 July 2022 and her death on 2 August 2022. She says the Trust;

• failed to admit her elderly mother to hospital and left her on an ambulance for four hours when she was very unwell with low oxygen levels, and did not provide food or water • did not take into consideration Mrs B’s nutritional preferences and failed to provide sufficient hydration during her admission.

• failed to provide treatment when she aspirated into her lungs.

5. As a result, Mrs A says a delay in being admitted to hospital without adequate hydration and nutrition when Mrs B was already dehydrated caused distress and a deterioration in her condition.

6. Mrs A says Mrs B became dehydrated and did not receive sufficient nutrition, which caused a severe decline in her condition. She says the Trust failed to provide lifesaving treatment of lung aspiration.

7. Mrs A believes the negligence of the Trust caused the avoidable death of her mother.

8. Mrs A is seeking an acknowledgement of failings, service improvements and a financial payment.

10. The Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 (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.

11. We have discussed this with Mrs A 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.

12. Mrs A says her Mrs B was admitted to the Trust with a chest infection and respiratory problems. She says Mrs B was living independently prior to her admission, and the poor care and treatment the Trust provided caused a rapid decline in her condition and her avoidable death.

13. She says the Trust failed to provide a bed for her mother when she was taken to hospital in an ambulance. She says this meant she was left on an ambulance for four hours, with no fluids or food offered.

14. She told us her mother continued to be given inadequate nutrition and fluids during her admission, and the Trust failed to provide treatment for lung aspiration.

15. Mrs A is seeking financial compensation for the loss of Mrs B and the long-lasting emotional distress this has caused. She is also seeking an acknowledgement of failings and service improvements.

16. Mrs A says due to a direct failure in duty of care, her mother died.

17. Mrs A has told us although she cannot determine what level of compensation is relevant to her complaint based on our scale of injustice. She did say she would be seeking a significant financial payment.

18. We consider Mrs A may have a potential clinical negligence claim available to her, as she is claiming the Trust were negligent in the care and treatment provided to her mother, and her death could have been prevented.

19. Whilst legal action cannot directly require service improvements and an acknowledgement of failings, this may be achieved as a result of a successful legal claim.

20. We asked Mrs A if there was any reasons or barriers which may prevent her from exploring a legal route. She told us there are no current barriers and she would be willing to pursue a legal route.

21. Mrs A did advise us financial implications may restrict her ability to pursue a legal route.

22. We cannot see any reasons which would prevent Mrs A from exploring whether legal action is available to her. This could include via the free legal services such as Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) or no-win, no-fee solicitors.

23. Should the legal route be unsuccessful, Mrs A can bring her complaint back to us, and we will consider the complaint. Mrs A should be aware of our time limit to bring her complaint back to us, therefore should return her complaint to us promptly. We do recommend Mrs A seek the advice from at least three different solicitors in order to gain a more accurate response.

24. Mrs A has a legal course of action available to her which it would be reasonable for her to pursue, so we will take no further action.

25. We are sorry to hear about the circumstances of Mrs A’s complaint. We can see this has been a very distressing time for Mrs A and her family.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs A’s complaint about Kings College Hospital NHS Trust (the Trust).

2. We recognise how difficult it has been for Mrs A following the sad loss of her mother, Mrs B.

3. We consider Mrs A could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us. Therefore, we will take no further action.