The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mr H has concerns about the care and treatment provide to his father, Mr U, by the Trust. This care was provided from December 2020 up until his father’s death March 2023. Specifically, he says the Trust: •did not act on CT scan findings in December 2020 and November 2022 •poorly communicated the process of end-of-life care.

5. Mr H states that, despite signs of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in December 2020 and November 2022, no referral was made to a respiratory specialist, potentially limiting access to treatment and contributing to a poor outcome.

6. He also describes the withdrawal of oxygen as part of his father’s end of life care as a distressing experience for the family, with insufficient communication leading to emotional strain and diminished confidence in the care provided

7. To resolve this complaint Mr H is seeking a financial remedy.

10. 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. Simply put, if someone has a legal route available to achieve the outcomes they are looking for. And if it is reasonable for them to pursue that route, we are not able to look at the complaint further.

11. To understand Mr H’s situation and desired outcome, and whether it would be reasonable for him to explore legal action, we reviewed the documents he submitted to us and discussed this with him. Our role is not to assess whether legal action would be successful but rather whether it is a reasonable option to consider.

12. Mr H has raised several concerns about the clinical care provided by the Trust. Mr H is concerned the Trust made mistakes which contributed to his father’s death. As such, it appears that Mr H may have legal recourse through the courts with a clinical negligence claim.

13. We have therefore considered whether legal action could help him achieve the outcome he is seeking, and whether it is reasonable for him to take that route.

14. Mr H has indicated he is seeking financial compensation for the distress and trauma of losing his father. Based on this, we can see the courts may be better placed to achieve this financial outcome.

15. We also considered possible barriers to pursuing legal action and any reasons why it might not be reasonable for Mr H to take legal action. Mr H confirmed he had considered this option but preferred to resolve his complaint through us. Therefore, we can see there are no barriers to him pursuing that action because he has already considered this option.

16. With the above in mind, we can see Mr H has a legal route available to him and it would be reasonable for him to pursue it to achieve the financial remedy he seeks.

17. It is also open for Mr H to return to us if he explores legal action and it becomes clear that it is no longer reasonable for him to pursue that route.

18. If Mr H does return to us in future, it is important he does so promptly because we would need to consider our own one-year time limit, in line with the ‘Health Service Commissioner Act 1993’. We can set this limit to one side where there is good reason to do so.

19. Any delays in returning to us may affect our ability to set the limit aside, so if he decides to return to us, we encourage him to contact us as soon as possible.

20. We understand that this experience has been traumatic for Mr H and his family. We would like to thank him for sharing his experience so openly as we are aware going over the events has been painful. We hope this statement clearly sets out how we thought about what he told us and how we reached our decision in this case.

1. We have carefully considered Mr H’s complaint about The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust).

2. Mr H complains about the care and treatment the Trust provided to his father, Mr U, between December 2020 and March 2023. He says the Trust failed to act on CT scan findings that indicated idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (is a long-term lung condition where the tissue in the lungs becomes thick and scarred over time) and did not refer his father to a respiratory specialist. He also raises concerns about poor communication around end-of-life care, particularly the withdrawal of oxygen, which he describes as distressing for the family.

3. Having carefully thought about what Mr H has told us we have decided to take no further action at this time. This is because we can see Mr H has a legal route available to him to achieve the financial remedy he is seeking. Mr H says he had considered this option but would prefer to pursue the complaint with ourselves.