North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust

3. Mr O complains about North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s treatment of his father, Mr W in October 2023. He complains;

• The paramedic who initially attended to assess Mr O’s condition on 30 October failed to recognise Mr W needed urgent treatment, meaning he waited 14 hours for an ambulance.

Mr O says as a result of the delay in receiving medical assistance his father died from pneumonia the following day. He feels devastated by the loss of his father who he had lived with for his whole life. He also feels very angry and let down by the NHS.

As a result of bringing this complaint to us, Mr O is seeking service improvements and level 6 financial remedy.

4. In October 2023 Mr O’s father, Mr W had been feeling unwell for a few weeks. He had lost weight due to a loss of appetite. On 25 October he had a chest scan which revealed a shadow and water on his lungs.

5. During the evening of 30 October 2023 Mr W’s daughter called 111 as he was feeling unwell and short of breath. The 111 team placed Mr W in category 3. Category 3 means an ambulance is needed but not urgently.

6. A clinician from the Trust went out to assess Mr W at his home at around 9pm. They decided an ambulance was needed but kept Mr W’s priority as category 3.

7. Between the time of the assessment and the early hours of the following morning, 31 October 2023, three calls were made to 999 as Mr W’s symptoms were worsening.

8. An ambulance arrived at around 10am on 31 October 2023. Mr W received treatment in hospital but he sadly died at around 6.30pm the same day. His cause of death was recorded as pneumonia.

9. Mr O’s sister complained to the Trust on 15 January 2024. The Trust sent its response on 19 March 2024 and Mr O brought the complaint to us on 19 August 2024.

11. 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 Mr O and his representative to understand his circumstances and the outcomes he wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

12. Mr O says the Trust were negligent in their care of his father. He says the Trust failed to assess his condition appropriately and take him to hospital in a timely manner which led to his death from Pneumonia. He says he has been left devastated by the loss of his father and feels it could have been avoided. In line with our legislation, we have considered whether it would be reasonable for her to pursue legal action, given the outcome he is seeking.

13. Mr O is seeking service improvements and financial compensation. The amount of financial remedy Mr O seeks is at the highest end of our severity of injustice scale, level 6. A court would be able to carefully consider and assess an appropriate amount of compensation for the impact Mr O says this has had on him and his family. We would not want to disadvantage them by ‘under settling’ the complaint or proceed with an investigation, if we are not able to achieve the level of financial remedy they are looking for.

14. Mr O is also seeking service improvements. While legal action would focus on financial remedy it may also include some other outcomes. Pursuing a clinical negligence claim could potentially achieve service improvements too.

15. Mr O has not made us aware of any barriers that would make it difficult or prevent him from pursuing legal action.

16. When we spoke to Mr O and his representative over the telephone, they explained they have already spoken to two solicitors about their complaint and been told the cost would likely outweigh any compensation. They sent us a copy of the letter from one solicitor to confirm this and said they did not have anything in writing from the other solicitor. If Mr O speaks to more solicitors he could find they have a different view. Mr O explained he feels strongly that £10,000 in financial remedy is appropriate for his case and would be willing to go back to more solicitors if we could not provide this amount. As an organisation, we need to be fully satisfied Mr O has exhausted the legal route and currently we think he could explore this further. Given the high level of compensation he seeks it would be proportionate for Mr to speak to at least a few more solicitors to see if they will take on his case.

17. Taking all of this into account, we believe it is reasonable for Mr O to pursue legal action. We have decided not to consider the complaint further on these grounds. The courts can independently review the complaint and decide whether there has been clinical negligence, and, if so, decide on what amount of financial compensation would be appropriate. We hope this information helps Mr O to progress his complaint to achieve the outcome he is seeking.

18. If Mr O finds he does not have a legal route, he may come back to us and we could potentially consider his complaint. We have advised him of our time limit and that he would need to return to us in a timely manner.

1. We have carefully considered Mr O’s complaint about North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (the Trust). We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere condolences to Mr O and his family. We are mindful of how important his complaint is to him and the difficult experience he has been through.

2. We have decided not to consider Mr O’s complaint further. This is because we have decided it is reasonable for Mr O to pursue a legal remedy.