Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

4. Miss G complains about the care, treatment, and ‘neglect’ of her son at the Trust from 28 October 2023 to 30 October 2023.

5. Miss G says her son suffered a deep tissue burn as a result of medical neglect after a monitor was placed and wrapped around his foot. She says it seemed like the monitor was removed from her son’s foot and swapped to the other foot in an attempt to hide the error resulting in ‘clinical negligence’.

6. Miss G specifically complains the Trust:

• did not inform her of the damage caused to her son’s foot when it was first recognised • did not escalate the burn when the Trust staff member moved the monitor from her son’s left foot to his right foot • did not make a referral to the Tissue Viability team when the damage was first identified, and it took for her son’s father to raise the issue before her son’s foot was reviewed • should have conducted skin checks and changed the position of the oxygen saturations probes to prevent skin damage • kept her son’s monitor continuously on him and plugged in for a long period of time with no change in position causing the damage • should not have admitted her son to Skylark Ward as he was only eight days and should not have used the monitor on her son due to his gestation, size and age • did not follow policies and protocols to the expected standard.

7. Miss G says the deep tissue burn could have been prevented if her son’s care and treatment was monitored correctly. She says at the time of events, her son was eight days old and premature. She feels the care and treatment provided to such a young premature baby fell below the expected standard and should never have happened.

8. Miss G says she was shocked, horrified, upset, angry and very scared. She says after the incident she had to endure a further five to six days at the Trust and found it ‘unbearable’. She says the Trust has a responsibility to care for her baby and make him better, but instead it hurt him, and the Trust are responsible for him suffering a deep tissue burn as a result of medical neglect.

9. By bringing this complaint to us, Miss G seeks a large financial remedy and service improvements, so others do not experience similar issues in the care and treatment provided.

10. Miss G says that on 28 October 2023, the Trust admitted her premature baby, who was then moved to the children’s ward where she stayed with her son for nearly three weeks.

11. Due to her son’s ill health and sepsis, a foot monitor was placed on his foot to measure his oxygen and heart rate. The monitor was attached to him for the entire day and overnight. The next morning, Miss G was trying to change her son and due to the monitor wire getting in the way, she unclipped it to get more room.

12. Miss G says she alerted a nurse advising she had removed the wire as it was in the way. She says the nurse confirmed that was fine and as her son’s statistics were a lot better, but the monitor and wire remained attached to her son.

13. On the Sunday evening, Miss G says a lady doing an observation noticed her son’s foot had a mark on it. Miss G says because her son had a heel prick earlier that day, she did not think any more of it.

14. The following morning, Miss G raised her concern about her son’s foot and was told a doctor needs to look at his foot immediately due to the presentation of the mark on his foot. A doctor confirmed it was a deep tissue burn which matched the pattern on the monitor. Miss G says she can not believe her son had been burning for all that time and it had not been raised as a concern.

16. The intention of considering whether there is an alternative legal route is to ensure we do not interfere with matters which are properly within the remit of the courts.

17. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint if there is, or was, a legal remedy that the aggrieved could or could have pursued, unless it is (or was) not reasonable to do so. In each case we consider whether a court could provide a complete remedy for the matter complained about and achieve the outcomes the complaint is seeking.

18. In considering whether there is an alternative legal remedy, we need to first consider whether there is a legal cause of action Miss G could pursue. Miss G is claiming her son’s care and treatment was negligent and she is seeking financial remedy, therefore she could pursue a clinical negligence claim.

19. We next considered whether it would be reasonable for Miss G to pursue this legal route.

20. During a telephone call with Miss G , she advised she had not considered the legal route to address the outcome of legal remedy she seeks, as she was signposted to the PHSO by the Trust believing this was the next step in the resolution process.

21. She explained she came straight to us for this reason. Miss G confirmed she is seeking a large financial remedy and wanted to attempt to get legal advice believing the Trust’s actions amount to clinical negligence due to the physical harm they caused her son.

22. Miss G is unsure what figure would be relevant to her complaint and would like to speak to a solicitor about what would be reasonable in her situation. She explained her son has been physically harmed and marked because of the deep tissue burn he suffered from. She says she has suffered emotionally including being shocked, upset, horrified, angry and very scared.

23. It seems clear, for the type of outcome Miss G seeks, and the type of impacts claimed, there may be a potential clinical negligence claim open to her. Miss G is content to try and make a successful claim through the legal route as she feels the way the Trust has inadequately cared and treated her son equates to clinical negligence due to the physical impact and emotional distraught caused by the Trust.

24. We have considered whether it is reasonable for Miss G to attempt getting legal advice. We are satisfied it is, as Miss G has confirmed she is content to speak to a solicitor to see if her claim can be taken on.

25. Miss G understands that she may need to contact several solicitors if an outcome of one solicitor is to decline her claim. Just because one legal firm declines a claim does not mean there is no claim. The outcome of an enquiry does not rule out other solicitors taking a different view. Miss G confirmed she has no barriers preventing her from pursuing a legal claim.

26. We advised Miss G that she can bring the complaint to us if she is unable to secure representation or pursue legal action.

27. Miss G is happy with this approach and confirmed her expectations would be modified if she did need to return to us in the event, she was unable to pursue a legal claim. It is important she comes back to us as soon as possible in that we need to consider our one-year time limit and account for any further delay. Miss G confirmed she would contact us as soon as she had exhausted the legal route and would return to us without delay.

28. We recognise Miss G is also seeking service improvements. Whilst this is not a guaranteed outcome of a legal claim, it can often be a byproduct of a clinical negligence claim. If this outcome remains outstanding, Miss G could potentially return to us, and we could consider this as a new complaint. It remains the case a large financial remedy is the most important outcome she is seeking.

29. On this basis, we have not seen any reasons it would be unreasonable to expect Miss G not to pursue legal advice. Miss G is open to exploring the legal route, intends to take legal action and has confirmed she has no barriers preventing her looking into this. We will therefore close Miss G’s complaint.

30. We appreciate Miss Transon-Speller’s experience has caused significant stress and upset for her and are sorry to hear of the impact on her son.

1. We have carefully considered Miss G’s complaint about Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust).

2. We are sorry to hear about Miss G’s experience following a deep tissue burn suffered by her son in October 2023. We appreciate this was an incredibly stressful and upsetting time for Miss G and we would like to take the opportunity to thank her for bringing her complaint to our attention.

3. Miss Transon-Speller has advised us she wishes to attempt to obtain legal advice with a solicitor to consider her complaint against the Trust. We therefore consider Miss G could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us, and we will therefore take no action on the complaint at this time. If she is unsuccessful or is unhappy with the outcome, she can return to us but must do so without delay.