London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust

4. Mr B complains about the care and treatment the Trust provided to his daughter, Miss B, between 15 September 2022 and her death on 14 March 2023. He specifically complains about the following aspects of her care:

September 2022 admission • the Trust did not get fully informed consent prior to a Hickman line (a central venous catheter used to administer medications) procedure on 16 September 2022 as it did not make Miss B aware of the risk of developing clots or severe thrombosis (where blood clots block blood vessels) • the Trust failed to carry out a venogram (a test that uses X-rays to create moving pictures of blood flow in the veins) prior to the procedure • the Trust inserted the line on the left-hand side rather than the right-hand side • the Trust did not have appropriate staff to carry out the procedure.

November 2022 admission • the Trust failed to insert a stent (a tiny tube placed in an artery or duct to help keep it open and restore the flow of bodily fluids in the area) in November 2022 • the Trust pressured Miss B to have a COVID-19 vaccine and a pneumonia vaccine • the Trust gave Miss B medication which compromised her immune system.

February 2023 admission • the Trust inappropriately transferred Miss B from another hospital on 18 February 2023 • the Trust admitted Miss B to A&E rather than its High Dependency Unit • the Trust failed to provide timely and appropriate treatment following admission • the Trust did not ensure Miss B was appropriately reviewed face-to-face by consultants.

5. Mr B also complains about the Trust’s investigation into what happened to Miss B. He says it glossed over material, provided inaccurate information and failed to provide information he requested.

6. Mr B says events in September 2022 led to his daughter developing thrombosis. He says her quality of life was affected by this as she suffered pain and could not eat or drink properly. He says events in November 2022 resulted in Miss B developing further clots and the Trust’s actions in February 2023 led to her death.

7. Mr B says his daughter’s death has greatly affected him, his wife and their other daughter. He says events have affected their mental and physical health and he has had to leave his job. He also says the Trust’s investigation and complaint handling has compounded their distress.

8. Mr B would like the Trust to acknowledge it is responsible for Miss B’s death and pay the family a financial remedy.

11. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has (or had) the option to take legal action, unless we consider it is (or was) unreasonable in the circumstances. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

12. We have spoken with Mr B to understand his circumstances and the outcomes he is looking for. He has told us he believes the Trust provided his daughter with poor care and treatment and this directly led to her death. This suggests he could consider making a clinical negligence claim against the Trust.

13. Mr B has also told us that he would like the Trust to accept responsibility for his daughter’s death and pay the family a substantial amount of money to compensate them for what happened and the impact this has had on them. We cannot begin to imagine what a difficult time this has been for Miss B’s family.

14. Based on the information Mr B has provided, we consider legal action is a reasonable option for him to look into. This is because we would be unable to achieve the amount of money he is seeking even were we to investigate and uphold his complaint. We will therefore not be considering his complaint any further at this time.

15. We consider Mr B’s complaint about the Trust’s investigation and complaint handling is closely linked to his complaint about Miss B’s care and treatment. This is because his main concern is that the Trust has not been open and honest about what happened.

16. We think it would be very difficult for us to look at this part of Mr B’s complaint in isolation. We would also not be able to achieve the outcomes he is seeking from looking at this part of his complaint only. It is also possible Mr B can see the information he says he is still seeking from the Trust through taking legal action.

17. Mr B can bring his complaint back to us if, after seeking legal advice, it becomes clear taking legal action is not an option. He can also bring his complaint back to us if he takes legal action, but this does not achieve all the outcomes he is seeking. At that stage, we would look at his complaint again and decide whether we could consider it further.

18. If Mr B wishes to bring his complaint back to us in the future, he should do so without an undue delay. By law, complaints should normally be made to us within 12 months of the person becoming aware of the problem they are complaining about. We can look at complaints brought to us after a year but only if there are good reasons for any delays.

19. We are sorry we are unable to help Mr B at this time and hope we have clearly set out our thinking. We would again like to say how very sorry we are for Mr B and his family’s devastating loss and pass on our sincere condolences.

1. We have carefully considered Mr B’s complaint about London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (the Trust).

2. Mr B complains about the care and treatment the Trust provided to his late daughter, Miss B, between September 2022 and March 2023. He believes poor care and treatment directly led to her death in hospital on 14 March 2023. We are very sorry for his sad loss and would like to share our sincere condolences.

3. We consider Mr B could take legal action on the matter he has brought to us. We have therefore decided not to consider his complaint any further at this time.