3. Mr A complains that the Urgent Care Centre misdiagnosed his father-in-law Mr L with a lower respiratory tract infection on 7 April 2024. He also complains that it did not complete the appropriate investigations of his symptoms. Mr L sadly died the next day.
4. Mr A says that, had the Trust properly investigated his father-in-law’s symptoms and monitored him in hospital, his death would have been avoided.
5. Mr A wants service improvements and a financial remedy.
8. 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. We have discussed this during a telephone call with Mr A on 11 November 2025 to understand his circumstances and the outcomes he wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.
9. Mr A told us to put right his concerns he wants service improvements and a financial remedy. He also wants to understand if there is a possibility that the actions of the Urgent Care Centre were negligent.
10. During our telephone call, we discussed that we cannot consider if there was a negligent act, this can be pursued through legal action, specifically a clinical negligence claim. Financial compensation can be achieved by making a claim.
11. Following legal proceedings, sometimes organisations will make service improvements. This means that Mr A could achieve all of his outcomes following any legal action.
12. We have considered the relevant factors and the law. Mr A is still in time to pursue legal action. The legal route is best suited to achieve the outcomes he seeks. We do not see any barriers to prevent him from exploring this option and we think it reasonable that he does so. We have therefore decided not to consider the complaint further.
13. We understand how much this matters to Mr A and his family and thank him for sharing the details of his complaint. It is important we consider and act within the law and we hope this statement clearly explains the reasons for our decision.
1. We have carefully considered Mr A’s complaint about the Urgent Care Centre’s actions on 7 April 2024. We considered that Mr A should take legal action on the matter than he brought to us. On this basis, we have decided not to consider the complaint further.
2. We were sorry to hear of Mr L’s sad death and the deep impact this has had on his family. We thank Mr A for bringing his concerns to us and his candour when sharing their experience with us.