A practice in the Cornwall area

3. Mr and Miss G complain about aspects of care and treatment provided by the Practice to Mrs G. She was Mr G’s wife and Miss G’s mother.

4. Mr and Miss G complain Mrs G contacted the Practice several times between 10 and 23 November 2023 about an ongoing cough. They say the Practice did not see Mrs G face to face and did not provide antibiotics when it should have. They also say the Practice did not provide safety netting advice and did not respond to her concerns about her breathing.

5. Mr and Miss G complain the Practice’s inaction led to the death of Mrs G. This has caused the family extreme distress whilst they were grieving.

6. Mr and Miss G would like the Practice to acknowledge mistakes and a financial remedy.

7. On 10 November, Mrs G contacted the Practice complaining about respiratory symptoms. A doctor prescribed doxycycline (an antibiotic used to treat infections) and a Salamol inhaler (an inhaler containing salbutamol which is used to widen the airways and relieve respiratory symptoms). The Practice also referred Mrs G for a chest X-ray.

8. Mrs G had ongoing symptoms and saw a doctor on 14 November who prescribed amoxicillin (an antibiotic used to treat infections).

9. On 12 November, Mrs G had a chest X-ray which did not show any abnormalities.

10. On 19 November Mrs G called an ambulance as she was having difficulty breathing.

11. The next day, on 20 November, Mrs G contacted the Practice and spoke to an advanced nurse practitioner. They referred her for a CT scan (a computed tomography scan uses X-rays to create detailed images of the body) on a two week wait, lung referral pathway. They also took a sputum sample to explore whether Mrs G needed different antibiotics and referred her for a spirometry (a test that measures lung function).

12. On 22 November, Mrs G had a face-to-face appointment with an advanced nurse practitioner. They decided not to prescribe further antibiotics and instead to wait for the CT lung scan results (due later that day) and sputum sample results.

13. The following day, on 23 November 2023, Mrs G contacted the Practice with ongoing symptoms. A doctor called her and suggested she try codeine (a drug commonly used to treat pain and coughing) and nasal breathing to improve her symptoms.

14. Mrs G’s condition worsened and sadly shortly afterwards she died.

17. 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 and Miss G to understand their circumstances and the outcomes they want. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

18. Mr and Miss G told us they are seeking financial remedy and this is an important part of their complaint. Based on what they told us, they could pursue a legal claim for medical negligence as they are claiming the Practice’s inaction led to the death of Mrs G. They could also potentially make a claim under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, which provides a legal right of action against a wrongful act which caused the death of a family member.

19. During our conversation Mr and Miss G were unable to commit to the amount of remedy they are seeking, and this is completely understandable given the circumstances. As such, we spoke about the amounts on our scale of injustice and that our recommendations are often less than the amounts awarded by the courts.

20. Following our conversation, Mr and Miss G took time to consider their options and decided to take legal advice to explore their options. It is clear they are seeking legal advice with a view to pursuing a legal claim. This suggests there are no barriers preventing them exploring legal action.

21. Additionally, upon consideration of Mr and Miss G’s complaint and the very serious impact this had on Mrs G, it appears the amount they hope to achieve may be beyond the amount we might recommend if we upheld this complaint. A solicitor might be able to achieve more if they decide to take on this case.

22. Mr and Miss G also would also like the Practice to acknowledge went wrong. The courts would not directly achieve this outcome but could do as a bi-product. Therefore, we do not consider this should prevent them from pursuing a legal claim.

23. We consider it is reasonable for Mr and Miss G to pursue legal action in respect of their complaint. For the above reasons, we have decided to close the complaint at this stage in our process. This will allow Mr and Miss G the chance to explore the legal avenue fully.

24. We thank Mr and Miss G for taking the time to explain what happened to Mrs G, we do not underestimate how difficult this has been. Additionally, Mr and Miss G are welcome to come back to us should they find they are unable to pursue a legal claim, and we will consider their complaint again. If they do come back to us, they should bear in mind our legal time limit. We hope we have explained our decision clearly.

1. We have carefully considered Mr G and Miss G’s complaint about the Practice. We are sorry to learn about the death of Mrs G and the grief Mr and Miss G continue to suffer.

2. We have considered the complaint Mr and Miss G brought to us regarding the actions of the Practice following Mrs G’s respiratory issues and ongoing cough. We consider it is reasonable for Mr and Miss G to take legal action on the matter they have brought to us. For this reason, we have decided not to consider their complaint further.