Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

3. Ms A complains about multiple aspects of the Trust’s care and treatment in relation to her son’s diagnosis and treatment of Crohn’s disease between 2016 and 2021. She also complains about the accuracy of this diagnosis and treatment contained within his clinical records.

4. She says consequently the Trust misdiagnosed his symptoms and treated her son for a condition he did not have. She says he was neglected by the Trust which caused his condition to deteriorate and had an impact on the development of his body.

5. As an outcome she is seeking an acknowledgement of failings, service improvements and a financial remedy

8. 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 Ms 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.

9. Ms A says the Trust misdiagnosed her son, gave him inappropriate medication, delayed his treatment and recorded inaccurate information in his clinical records which meant he was mistreated by the Trust. She says these issues have had a permanent impact on his physical health and caused significant avoidable distress for her and her son. We are sorry to hear of how much Ms A says her and her son have been impacted by this. These are serious concerns which could be addressed by a court by pursuing a claim for clinical negligence

10. We are aware Ms A is currently pursuing a legal claim in respect of her concerns about the Trust’s treatment and the impact this has had on her son. When we contacted Ms A to discuss this complaint. She explained she is happy to wait for the conclusion of any legal action before we consider her complaint further.

11. After careful consideration, we have decided we cannot look at the other aspects of the complaint while the legal case is being considered. This is because we cannot be certain a court will not make a decision that impacts on a part of the complaint we are considering, even though it is not the main aspect of her legal case. Equally, we cannot be certain our work will not have implications on her legal claim.

12. Although we have decided we cannot take further action on Ms A’s complaint, we can reconsider our position if legal action does not fully remedy her concerns. By law, complaints should normally be referred to us within a year of when the complainant first became aware of their complaint. We can put the time limit to one side if we think it is reasonable to do this.

13. We understand how difficult this period has been for Ms A and the ongoing impact this continues to have on her and her son. We hope we have clearly explained the reasons for our decision not to consider her complaint further at this time.

1. We have carefully considered Ms A’s complaint about the Trust. Ms A has confirmed she is currently taking legal action in respect of her concerns about the care the Trust provided to her son. We consider these issues are so closely linked to the complaint Ms A has referred to our service, that we cannot reasonably consider this complaint until her ongoing legal action has concluded.

2. We understand how important these issues are for Ms A and her son and are sorry to learn of the difficult circumstances they explain they are in because of this. We understand and recognise the impact these concerns continue to have on Ms A and her son.