Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

3. Mrs S complains about the care and treatment provided by the Trust to her mother, Mrs A, between 12 January 2024 and 13 March 2024. She says:

• the Trust did not diagnose or treat her mother’s swallowing difficulties in a timely manner • the Trust did not maintain her mother’s nutritional needs • the Trust administered high doses of diazepam to her mother • the Trust did not implement a treatment plan.

4. Mrs S says her mother’s death could have been prevented if the Trust had provided her with the appropriate care and treatment. She says her mother did not get the treatment she needed from the Trust and she sadly died on 13 March 2024.

5. Mrs S says the Trust gave her mother too strong a dose of diazepam which increased her heart rate and caused severe drowsiness. She says her mother’s swallowing difficulties and lack of nutrition led to severe weight loss and muscle atrophy and the death of her mother has caused the family a great deal of distress.

6. To resolve her complaint, Mrs S seeks service improvements and a financial remedy.

9. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has or had the option to take legal action, unless we consider it unreasonable in the circumstances. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to pursue.

10. We have discussed this with Mrs S to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she is seeking. Mrs S explained she wants a financial remedy and service improvements.

11. We recognise Mrs S is seeking mixed outcomes, not only a financial remedy. It is possible the other outcome she is seeking could be addressed through the legal process, depending on how that process develops. This is something Mrs S may wish to explore further with a solicitor.

12. We are generally not able to provide the same levels of financial remedy that a court can. Whilst we can make some recommendations for financial remedy, we consider the courts best placed to consider a more significant financial outcome for Mrs S.

13. We have considered the relevant factors and the law. The legal route is better suited to achieve the outcomes she seeks. We do not see any barriers to prevent her from exploring this option and in line with our law, we consider it is reasonable that she does so. We have therefore decided not to consider the complaint further.

14. From speaking to Mrs S, it is clear what happened to Mrs A had a profound impact on her life. We acknowledge how important this complaint is to her and we thank her for bringing it to us and for speaking with us so openly about what happened.

1. We thank Mrs S for bringing her complaint to us. We are saddened to hear about what happened and we extend our sincere condolences to Mrs S and her family. We understand how important this complaint is to them.

2. We are unable to look at Mrs S’ complaint as we consider it reasonable for Mrs S to take legal action on the matter that she has brought to us. We explain the reasons for our decision.