Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

3. Miss U complains about the care and treatment she received from Mid South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in between March and November 2023. She complains:

• on 21 March 2023 the Trust misdiagnosed her with a joint injury • between September and November 2023, when she complained of worsening symptoms including pain, tingling and numbness in her arm, the Trust refused investigate and carry out an MRI scan.

4. Miss U says the misdiagnosis, negligence and lack of investigation into her symptoms by the Trust caused her unnecessary prolonged pain and distress for the last two years which is still ongoing. She had to go private for an MRI scan and was diagnosed with a c5/c6 disc protrusion, which is compressing the nerve. She says she is constantly having to take time off work due to being in pain on a daily basis. This has put her job at risk and she has lost income. She says she struggles with everyday tasks like housework, shopping and brushing her hair. She says the constant pain has affected her mental health and she is now waiting to see a spinal surgeon about the possibility of surgery.

5. As a result of bringing this complaint to us, Miss U is seeking an apology from the Trust and level 5 financial remedy.

6. Miss U works as a healthcare assistant and suffered an injury at work in January 2023. She was referred by her GP to the Trust in February 2023 and commenced physiotherapy treatment. The Trust diagnosed her with a joint injury in her right shoulder.

7. On 31 March 2023, Miss U had an x-ray on her shoulder. The x-ray results showed no bony injury and by the 6 April 2023 her symptoms had improved so she returned to work the following week.

8. Miss U booked a further appointment with the physiotherapist on 28 September 2023 as her symptoms had worsened. She reported right arm pain as well as tingling and numbness in her right palm. She requested a referral to orthopaedics and an MRI scan and the Trust declined this.

9. Following this, Miss U decided to seek private treatment. On 14 December 2023, the consultant at the private clinic said she did not have a joint injury and that she needed a MRI scan. On 26 December 2023, Miss U was diagnosed with c5/c6 disc protrusion which was severely compressing a nerve.

10. Miss U complained to the Trust on 13 February 2024. The Trust sent its final response on 31 May 2024. Miss U brought her complaint to us on 23 October 2024.

12. 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 Miss U to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look into.

13. Miss U says the Trust was negligent in its care of her and its failure to diagnose and treat her disc protrusion caused prolonged pain, leaving her unable to work and carry out normal daily activities over the last two years. Miss U says she believes as she did not receive the correct treatment straight away, she will never be healed completely and always at risk of injury to her neck.

14. In line with our legislation, we have considered whether it would be reasonable for Miss U to pursue legal outcomes, given the outcomes she is seeking.

15. Miss U is seeking level 5 financial remedy, which is at the higher end of our severity of injustice scale. A court would be able to carefully consider and assess an appropriate amount of compensation for the impact Miss U says this has had on her. We would not want to disadvantage Miss U by ‘under-settling’ her complaint or proceed with an investigation, if we are not able to achieve the level of financial remedy she is looking for.

16. Miss U is seeking an apology as well as financial remedy of level 5 of our Severity of Injustice Scale. While legal action would focus on financial remedy it may also provide other outcomes. Pursuing a clinical negligence claim could potentially achieve both the outcomes Miss U seeks. If Miss U cannot afford solicitors fees then the ‘no win-no fee’ option is available for her to explore.

17. Taking all of this into account, we believe it is reasonable to for Miss U 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 a clinical negligence, and, if so, decide what amount of financial compensation would be appropriate.

18. If Miss U finds she does not have a legal route, she may come back to us and we could potentially consider the complaint. We have advised her of our time limit and she would need to return to us in a timely manner.

1. We have carefully considered Miss U’s complaint about Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We were very sorry to hear about the circumstances of her complaint and the ongoing impact she has endured from her disc protrusion.

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