Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mrs O complains that on 29 November 2022 her husband was given an overdose of Lidocaine at ten times the dose he should have been given at the Trust.

4. Mrs O says the overdose was a bigger contributing factor in her husband’s death than the Trust admitted to and he may have recovered had this not occurred. She feels distressed that she has not been able to share the retirement stage of life with her husband and has struggling financially, with now only having one income. She has had to work additional hours which has impacted her physical health.

5. Mrs O is seeking an acknowledgment and financial remedy.

7. The Health Service Commissioner Act 1993 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 O to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. In particular, whether there are legal proceedings which may achieve the remedy she is seeking and if it is reasonable for her to pursue these.

8. If Mrs O finds she is unable to pursue a legal claim via no win no fee or 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. This is because 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. Mrs O told us her reasons for not complaining to us sooner and we told her these have been recorded on the case and will be considered if she returns to us at a later date with her complaint. If Mrs O does take legal action, we would need to wait for this to conclude before we consider if any issues are outstanding.

9. We signposted Mrs O 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.

10. We consider that legal action is appropriate to pursue for the entirety of Mrs O’s complaint and that it may address both outcomes she is seeking therefore we have decided not to consider the complaint further.

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

1. We have carefully considered Mrs O’s complaint about Hampshire Hospitals 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 O is seeking.

2. We are very sorry to hear Mrs O’s husband died and recognise she and her family feel shocked and traumatised by the events that occurred at the end of his life. We acknowledge the grief and distress Mrs O and her family continue to experience. We appreciate our decision may be disappointing and trust she finds the explanations provided helpful.