Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mr O complains about the poor care, treatment, and communication he received from the Trust from August 2023 to September 2023. He claims the Trust did not correctly assess his eye injury or refer him for laser eye surgery in a timely manner. He says Trust staff had a ‘poor attitude’ and did not clearly explain his treatment plan. He also feels Trust staff were ‘unprofessional’ as they finished their shift early before his appointment had finished.

5. Mr O says because of this, he developed a fully detached retina and needed urgent surgery to repair this. He feels this could have been avoided if they had referred him for laser eye surgery sooner and this would have caused him less stress. Mr O says he is anxious his sight might not fully recover, and he will need a cataract operation in the future.

6. Mr O says he must take precautions, for instance needing to wear sunglasses and avoiding pools with chlorine in, which has caused him frustration as he says he cannot swim until his eye is fully healed.

7. Mr O would like a financial remedy.

8. On 25 August 2023, Mr O attended Warrington hospital following an accident playing football. He had developed a ‘film’ over his right eye which was stopping him from being able to see. Staff examined him and took photographs of the back of the eye. They diagnosed him with a bleed and a partially torn retina (a retinal tear is a rip in the layer of light detecting cells at the back of the eye).

9. A specialist told Mr O to go to the eye clinic the following day at 9am. The ophthalmologist examined him and told him he would need laser eye surgery. Sadly, the administration team had left that day so they could not process his referral letter.

10. Mr O visited the eye clinic again on 26 August. The ophthalmologist confirmed he had a bleed on the right eye, but they could not see evidence of a torn retina. As such, they did not arrange laser surgery immediately and booked him in for a follow up appointment for two weeks later.

11. On 11 September 2023, Mr O attended his follow up appointment. He underwent further tests and had photographs taken of his eye. This showed he had developed a fully detached retina, and he needed major surgery that day.

12. Mr O had surgery at 9pm to reattach his retina. The specialist informed him the nature of the operation meant he would most definitely need cataract surgery within two years and his full sight might not return.

13. Mr O complained to the Trust on 17 September 2023. The Trust issued its complaints response on 26 October. Mr O did not successfully receive a copy of the response, so he contacted the Trust to chase it on 23 November. The Trust apologised on 23 November 2023 and provided a further email with an apology. Mr O complained to PHSO on 22 December 2023.+

15. We would first like to make it clear that we have not reached a view of the care and treatment Mr O received from the Trust for his eye injury. Instead, we have considered the actions the Trust has agreed to take to put this complaint right.

16. Mr O told us he feels frustrated about the lack of clear communication from Trust staff during his treatment for his eye injury. He also felt the Trust could have managed his diagnosis and treatment plan better. By bringing his complaint to us, Mr O would like to receive a financial remedy which recognises the stress he experienced because of the poor service.

17. We are sorry to hear about the experience Mr O has had and his ongoing eye problems. We appreciate he has suffered from stress and anxiety since his accident and do not dismiss how upsetting this has been for him. By bringing his complaint to us, we hope to reassure him it will make a difference for the service and experience others receive in the future.

18. On 23 July 2024, we approached the Trust to see if it would consider doing further work to resolve this complaint. We asked it to write to Mr O to formally apologise for the poor service it provided to him and the way in which it handled his complaint. It agreed to apologise for the service he received, including delays in his treatment and poor attitude from its staff. The Trust also agreed to apologise for the poor communication Mr O received about his care and treatment plan. It said it will put service improvements in place, to remind staff of the importance of clear communication and empathetic attitudes when dealing with patients in the future.

19. We also asked if it would be willing to pay £550 to recognise the frustration and distress Mr O had experienced during his admission. He told us he felt ‘let down’ by the Trust and this was a ‘very stressful and daunting period’ of his life which caused him anxiety and frustration. He wanted the Trust to give him a financial remedy, to recognise the poor impact this had on him.

20. The Trust agreed to make this payment to resolve Mr O’s complaint. We are satisfied this is an appropriate action and in line with our ‘severity of injustice scale’. This is a guide which we use to determine the appropriate amount of financial remedy to recommend, given the injustice the person has suffered because of a service failure.

21. When we spoke to Mr O, he confirmed he was happy with this proposal, and the Trust’s actions would resolve his concerns.

22. Our NHS Complaint Standards says an effective complaint handling system must give a fair and accountable response that sets out what happened and whether mistakes were made, fairly reflect the experience of everyone involved, clearly set out how the organisation is accountable and take action to make sure any learning is identified and used to improve services.

23. As the Trust has agreed to provide a financial remedy, a further apology acknowledging Mr O’s experience, as well as putting service improvements in place, we consider it has taken the appropriate action to resolve this complaint. That said, we will not take any further action.

24. We are sorry to hear about Mr O’s experience. We are pleased to see the Trust has managed to put Mr O’s complaint right and we would like to thank both parties for their time and effort during this process.

1. We have carefully considered Mr O’s complaint about Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust).

2. We are sorry to hear Mr O suffered pain and discomfort following an injury to his eye in August 2023. We appreciate this was an incredibly stressful experience for him. We would like to take this opportunity to wish him well for his recovery.

3. The Trust acknowledged it provided a poor service when it treated Mr O’s eye. It confirmed it will formally apologise and pay him £550 to put this right. Mr O has accepted this offer to resolve his complaint, so we have decided to not take any further action.