11. The law says a person needs to make their complaint to us within a year of becoming aware of the problem. We cannot investigate complaints brought to us after one year, unless we consider there is a good reason to do so.
12. We considered when Ms A could reasonably have been aware she had cause to complain. Ms A said she thought she had C-PTSD in 2015. Ms A had not received the CBT she expected by 2016 and began chasing the Trust. The Trust referred Ms A to alternative therapies and courses from 2016 to 2018. The Trust discharged Ms A in March 2018.
13. Our view is Ms A would have been aware she had cause to complain in March 2018 after she had not received the CBT she wanted, and having tried alternative therapies which she said had failed her. To be within our time limit Ms A complaint should have been made to us by March 2019.
14. Ms A complained to us in April 2025. Her complaint is therefore over six years out of time.
15. We discussed with Ms A the reasons for the delay in approaching us. We have made allowances for the time the Trust took to compete its complaint handling process. This was Between January and April 2025.
16. Ms A told us she has struggled since 2015 and then in 2017 with extremely difficult and distressing personal circumstances. She has had several disorders and had trusted what the Trust had been telling her. She had been referred on several occasions and had not received the treatment she needed for her condition. She had been self-neglecting. She said it was in 2024, after she received therapy sessions, which led to a formal diagnosis of C-PTSD in January 2025. This is when she complained to the Trust.
17. We accept and acknowledge this has been a very difficult time for Ms A. She has had to cope with traumatic experiences. She has followed Trust recommended therapies and courses which have not helped her. She has had to manage a family and work, both of which have been affected. Her wellbeing has been compromised with other disorders.
18. However, we do not think Ms A had demonstrated sufficient barrier to suggest she was unable to make a complaint all this time.
19. The information provided shows Ms Had suspicions she had C-PTSD in 2015 and the CBT (which eventually eld to her diagnosis) had not happened by 2016 when she expected it to.
20. We have made allowance for Ms A following Trust recommended treatment plans. Ms A said these did not help and she was discharged in March 2018. There is a clear opportunity for Ms A to complain here.
21. In summary. Ms A’s complaint is out of time. We are not persuaded she could not have complained sooner than she did or access support to enable ger to do this. Having carefully considered the reason for the delay we do not think there are sufficient reasons to set aside our time limit on this occasion. While we accept Ms A’s circumstances may have made complaining difficult, we do not think that necessarily delayed the complaint by six years. Therefore, we will take no further action.
22. We recognise how important this complaint is to Ms A and this is not the outcome she hoped for. Our decision is not intended to diminish the distress she has experienced over these years. We are reassured to know she has received the therapy she wanted, leading to a diagnosis C-PTSD which she suspected. We understand this has helped her.