Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mrs A complains the Trust inappropriately discharged Mr B in December 2022 and sent him home without the care and treatment he needed. Mrs A also says whilst Mr B was an inpatient, the Trust:

• failed to treat Mr B’s infections appropriately • failed to offer adequate pain relief or oxygen to Mr B when this was required • failed to listen to Mr B and his family when they raised concerns his health was worsening • failed to act on worsening NEWS scores • failed to promptly refer Mr B for further investigations.

5. Mrs A says her uncle died in pain and without dignity. She says Mr B may not have died when he did if the Trust had acted appropriately and cared for him properly. Mrs A has also told us about the devastating impact this has had on her.

6. To resolve her complaint, Mrs A would like the Trust to admit its failings, along with making service improvements to ensure this does not happen to others. Mrs A is also seeking compensation and wants action taken against the doctor involved in Mr B’s care.

7. Mr B was admitted to the Trust in December 2022 after attending an outpatient appointment where he was found to have abnormal kidney function.

8. At the end of December, the Trust discharged Mr B. It said it assessed him and considered him suitable for discharge. The Trust discharged Mr B with a view to obtaining a CT biopsy (a medical test where doctors use a CT scan to help them insert a needle into a specific part of your body to take a small tissue sample).

9. On 30 January 2023, the Trust readmitted Mr B after his health worsened.

10. Mrs A explains her uncle had previously been diagnosed with sepsis, E-coli and pneumonia.

11. Sadly, Mr B died on 6 February 2023 whilst an inpatient at the Trust.

13. Mrs A is pursuing a complaint with the GMC for her concerns about the competence and conduct of a doctor involved in Mr B’s care. The GMC is the independent regulator for doctors, physician associates, and anaesthesia associates in the UK. Their main role is to ensure good and safe patient care. The GMC have the power to investigate complaints about doctors and take action where concerns are found with a clinician’s fitness to practise. We are mindful this may achieve part of the outcome Mrs A is seeking.  We have carefully considered if we should look at Mrs A’s remaining concerns about the Trust.

14. We have decided not to consider Mrs A’s complaint about the care the Trust provided to Mr B at this time. This is because it will require us to investigate a period of care which is also currently being considered by the GMC.

15. We are mindful there may be overlap with this part of the complaint and GMC’s case. The GMC’s process is likely to consider the care and treatment Mr B received whilst an inpatient at the Trust.

16. At this time, we consider we may face practical difficulties trying to look at this concern further. We are of the view we should wait for the outcome of the GMC’s process before we consider Mrs A’s complaint further.

17. Once Mrs A has received a decision from the GMC, she can come back to us with any remaining concerns she has that she would like us to look at. If she wishes to do so, she should avoid any delay and come to us within 1 month of this concluding. This is because any delays may impact us being able to investigate the complaint.

18. We have decided we will not be looking into Mrs A’s complaint further while she explores a complaint with the GMC. We thank Mrs A for bringing her complaint to us, we recognise how important this is to her.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs A’s complaint about Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). She complains about aspects of the care and treatment the Trust provided to her uncle, Mr B, who sadly died in February 2023.

2. Mrs A is currently exploring a complaint with the General Medical Council (GMC) for part of her concerns relating to the doctor involved in Mr B’s care. We have decided not to look at the remaining issues Mrs A has brought to us for now, because the GMC’s involvement may limit the work we can do on this. We consider it important for the GMC’s process to conclude before we look any further into the linked concerns Mrs A has brought to us.

3. We offer our deepest condolences to Mrs A. We are very sorry to hear about the sad circumstances of her complaint. We recognise that these events continue to cause upset for her.