West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

5. Mrs P complains about aspects of the care and treatment her late mother, Mrs L received from the Trust, during two hospital admissions from 3 to 14 May 2023.

6. Specifically, she complains:

• the Trust carried out a heart procedure which led to Mrs L’s health deteriorating • the Trust discharged Mrs L on 12 May when she was not medically fit, and she could hardly walk • the medical team failed to recognise Mrs L had an infection, did not carry out thorough investigations or provide adequate treatment for it.

7. Mrs P says because of these issues, her mother’s health deteriorated, she developed sepsis and died.

8. Mrs P seeks an acknowledgement of failings, an apology and a financial remedy.

9. On 3 May, the Trust admitted Mrs L to hospital where she had a direct current cardioversion (DCCV, a procedure to treat irregular heart rhythms). The Trust said the medical team carried out the procedure successfully, however Mrs L had ongoing chronic right sided heart failure, and this was to be dealt with at an outpatient follow up appointment.

10. The Trust discharged Mrs L on 12 May and said the test results at that time, did not indicate she needed to stay in hospital. Mrs P explained Mrs L was not in a fit state, could hardly walk and required assistance to the vehicle to be taken home.

11. On 13 May, the Trust readmitted Mrs L, after she was found unconscious at home, with low blood sugar and low temperature. She was transferred to the intensive care unit, where her health unfortunately deteriorated.

12. Sadly, on 14 May, Mrs L died. We recognise the shock and distress this caused Mrs P.

13. Mrs P told us she did seek some initial legal advice following Mrs L’s death but decided to follow the complaints procedure, before approaching us.

16. 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 Mrs P 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 in to.

17. Mrs P could pursue a clinical negligence claim because she believes the care and treatment Mrs L received, led to her death.

18. Mrs P explained to us she is seeking a financial remedy. Although she could not give us an exact figure of how much she wants, this appears to be a higher amount.

19. Whilst we are able to recommend a financial remedy if we uphold a complaint, the courts are also well placed to recommend this.

20. Mrs P also seeks an acknowledgement and an apology. A successful legal claim is likely to provide the acknowledgement Mrs P seeks. Although an apology may not be directly achievable through the courts, it could still happen as a result of a successful legal claim.

21. Also, there is limited time for Mrs P to make a legal claim and we do not want our consideration to remove that as an option for her, when it may provide some of the outcomes she is looking for.

22. Mrs P told us there are no barriers preventing her from pursuing legal action, and she is happy to try this route to gain the main outcome she wants of a financial remedy. We also provided her with the contact details of Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA), a charity who may be able to provide some initial advice about pursuing a legal claim.

23. Based on what we have considered, we therefore think it would be reasonable for Mrs P to pursue legal action at this time.

24. If Mrs P is unable to proceed with the legal route and wants us to consider her complaint again, she can contact us. It is important Mrs P approaches us as soon as possible. This is because we can usually only look at complaints that are raised within 12 months of the person becoming aware of the issue, although we can sometimes put our time limit to one side if we feel it is reasonable to do so.

25. We thank Mrs P for bringing her complaint to us and for speaking to us about this, we recognise this has been a difficult time for her. We hope this statement clearly explains the reasons why we will not be considering her concerns further at this time.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs P’s complaint about the Trust. Having done so, we consider Mrs P could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us.

2. Mrs P raised concerns about her late mother, Mrs L’s care and treatment during two hospital admissions.

3. We acknowledge how important Mrs P’s complaint is to her and recognise this has been a difficult time. We are sorry to hear of Mrs L’s sad death and the impact this has had on Mrs P and her family.

4. We consider legal action may provide the financial outcome Mrs P seeks. If she is unable to achieve any of the outcomes she seeks through the legal process, she can return to us without delay to ask us to consider her concerns. We have therefore decided not to consider the complaint further.