Barts Health NHS Trust

3. Mr H complains the Trust carried out his tonsillectomy operation (removal of tonsils) incorrectly on 18 December 2023.

4. He specifically complains trainee surgeons partially removed his tonsils, not a complete removal.

5. As a result, Mr H told us he now needs a further operation. He told us he has endured pain, discomfort, and he now has a lisp when speaking. He explained it is hard to swallow and he has suffered with anxiety, depression, and is worried about having another operation.

6. By making his complaint, Mr H is seeking a financial remedy of £10,000 and an admission of liability.

7. Mr H’s GP referred him to the Trust as he had many years of recurrent infections on his tonsils. Mr H had also noticed a white spot on his tonsils following an outpatient appointment.

8. The Trust scheduled the procedure to remove his tonsils for 18 December 2023.

9. Following the procedure the Trust said Mr H’s tonsils became inflamed or he had an infection as the surgeon left some of the tonsil in. The Trust recommended another procedure to remove any remaining tonsil tissue that was causing the discomfort.

10. Mr H has said he does not want another procedure as he does not want anything else to go wrong.

11. The Trust has directed Mr H to make a legal claim if he wishes given the outcomes he is seeking.

14. 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.

15. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look into.

16. Mr H is complaining the trainee surgeons who did his operation performed it incorrectly, partially leaving some tonsil tissue behind and making his symptoms worse than before.

17. He says because of this, he now has even more pain and discomfort and has anxiety from the traumatic experience.

18. The Trust has recommended he has another procedure to rectify the first one, but Mr H is concerned it cannot guarantee the results of that. He says offering the procedure is an admission of liability that the Trust did not perform the operation correctly.

19. As a result, Mr H is seeking significant financial redress. He may therefore have a possible claim of clinical negligence.

20. Mr H has told us he is looking for a financial remedy of at least £10,000. He says that whilst the money will not fix his throat, at least it will make him happy in some way that the Trust accepted liability. He also says he wants an admission of liability. Whilst this is not common during the complaints process, it can be achieved if a legal claim is successful.

21. Mr H told us he has spoken to one solicitor who has said they cannot take the case on until the Trust admits liability. We consider he could also approach other solicitors for their point of view as he is alleging medical negligence and this correlates with the outcomes he would like.

22. Mr H has not informed us of any barriers in pursuing any legal action other than thinking we would provide him with the outcome he wanted first.

23. It could also be possible a legal claim could achieve more compensation for him than we could, if we were to uphold the complaint. It is also more likely that a legal claim could get him the admission of liability that he needs to resolve his complaint. Therefore, this is reasonable for him to pursue and we will not consider this complaint further.

24. We recognise how difficult it can be to make a complaint and thank Mr H for bringing his complaint to us. We understand he has experienced significant worry and hope his issues can be resolved.

1. We have carefully considered Mr H’s complaint about Barts Health NHS Trust (the Trust). We are sorry to hear about the issues he had with his operation and the ongoing physical and mental impact this has had on him.

2. Having carefully considered the information Mr H has provided, we consider he could possibly take legal action on the matters he has brought to us.