West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mrs A complains that the Trust did not take her husband, Mr A, to hospital on 18 January 2025, because the ambulance crew: • judged his condition to be low risk • advised him to make an appointment with his GP instead • told Mr A that going to the hospital would make him worse.

5. Mrs A says as a result of this her husband did not go to hospital when he needed to and died a few days later. Mrs A says this has left her traumatised.

6. The outcomes she seeks are service improvements and a financial remedy

9. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is, or was, unreasonable in the circumstances.

10. We do not base our decision on how successful legal action would be. Rather, we consider whether legal action is a reasonable option for someone to pursue, or have pursued.

11. Mrs A told us she has requested support from a solicitor and they have accepted the case. We think it is reasonable that she should pursue her concerns, and the outcomes she seeks, through legal action, specifically through a clinical negligence claim.

12. We have considered the relevant factors and the law. Mrs A is still in time to pursue legal action. The legal route is best suited to achieve the outcomes she seeks. We do not see any barriers to prevent her from taking this option and we think it is reasonable that she does so. For these reasons we have decided not to consider the complaint further.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs A’s complaint about West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust).

2. We have decided not to take further action at this time. This is because Mrs A has decided to take legal action.

3. We understand how important this matter is to Mrs A. We were sorry to hear that what happened caused her such distress. We explain the reasons for our decision below.