A GP practice in the Leicester area

4. Ms U complains about the Practice’s care and treatment between 2018 and 2020.

5. She complains: • the Practice did not tell her about a high platelet blood test results in 2018 • it did not do the right tests in 2018 to find out why her platelet count was high • the GP who saw her in 2020 laughed about her condition.

6. Ms U says she felt frustrated and angry that she was not told about issues with her blood test results in 2018. She says this may have caused a delay to her blood cancer diagnosis and prevented a better outcome. Ms U says she feels lost as she is unable to get good answers from the Practice.

7. Ms U would like the Practice to accept its mistakes and make a full apology.

8. Ms U originally complained to us in April 2020. A year later (due to exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic) we explained it was reasonable, at that time, for Ms U to look into the option of taking legal action to answer her complaint. We also explained that if Ms U could not take legal action, she could come back to us.

9. We explained we have a 12-month time limit, and the law says we cannot look at a complaint after this limit has passed unless there is a good reason to.

10. In May 2023 Ms U contacted us and asked us to reopen her case.

13. The law says we can only consider complaints that are brought to us within one year of the person becoming aware of a reason to complain. We can only consider putting the time limit to one side if there is a good reason to.

14. We asked Ms U if she had looked into taking legal action and if she had been given any quotes. Ms U explained she was ‘worried about the expense’ and that ‘solicitors fees are expensive’. This was her ‘main worry’.

15. Ms U explained she had tried to get some legal advice and had spoken to Citizens Advice. She had a conversation with a legal adviser but they explained there was a fee for more advice and the cost of this became a concern for her.

16. We asked Ms U what happened between 28 April 2021, when we closed her complaint, and 27 April 2023 when she came back to us. Ms U said she did not know where to go. She had been researching the term ‘clinical negligence’ but was only getting results for ‘medical negligence’ which confused her. She said she gave up for a while.

17. We understand that Ms U felt unsure about what steps to take and was concerned about costs. We think it would have been reasonable for her to come back to us and ask for further advice sooner than she has done.

18. Some delays are reasonable. For example, if someone has to wait weeks for solicitors to reply and they come to us soon after this. This shows us the person has done what they can to keep things moving forward.

19. It is difficult to justify putting the time limit to one side for this complaint because the delay is two years. There does not seem to be any practical reason why Ms U could not have come to us sooner. While we understand the concerns and confusion about legal action that Ms U had, this does not fully explain why she waited so long before coming back to us.

20. We understand Ms U’s experience caused her distress and frustration, but it is important that we consider and act within the law. We regret any further upset this decision may cause. We hope this statement clearly explains the reasons why will not be considering the complaint further.

1. We have carefully considered Ms U’s complaint about a GP practice in the Leicester area (the Practice). We are very sorry to hear about Ms U’s health conditions and diagnosis and the distressing time she faced when finding out about her blood test results in 2018.

2. Ms U’s complaint falls outside of our 12-month time limit for investigation. We considered the reasons why the complaint was not brought to us sooner and we have not seen strong enough reasons to put our time limit to one side.

3. We are sorry for any further distress this decision may cause and hope our explanation below is clear.