9. The Health Service Commissioners Act says a person must bring their complaint to us within one year of becoming aware of the issue. The Act sets out our powers and remit when considering complaints about the NHS. We are unable to investigate complaints submitted outside this time limit unless we consider there is a good reason to do so.
10. We have explained this to Mrs R and discussed her reasons for not the reasons for not bringing her complaint to us sooner. In making our decision, we have also considered the time the Trust took to respond to her complaint.
11. When looking at the timeline of this case, and Mrs R’s letters of complaint, we learn she considers she became aware of the issues on 8 May 2024 and subsequently raised a complaint with the Trust on the same day. The Trust issued its final response on 7 November 2024. Mrs R approached the PHSO on 9 June 2025.
12. We can see Mrs R first raised concerns about her care and treatment with her GP on 3 January 2024. Considering this, we asked Mrs R why she considers her date of knowledge to be 8 May 2024 and not 3 January 2024, when she first expressed concerns about her care and treatment. Specifically, on 3 January she expressed she felt the Trust should have referred her for an X-ray.
13. Mrs R explained she believed her date of knowledge to be 8 May 2024 because this was the date she got her initial diagnosis.
14. We can see Mrs R first became aware something was wrong in January 2024. We know this as this is when she first raised her concerns with her GP. Specifically, she raised concerns about a referral for an X-ray.
15. We can see she complained to the Trust on 8 May 2024. The Trust provided a final response to Mrs R in November 2024, approximately six months later. While there was a slight delay in the Trust providing a response, we do not consider this had an undue impact on the process itself. We have reviewed the Trust’s final response and can see it directs her to the PHSO.
16. After receiving a response from the Trust in November 2024, Mrs R approached the PHSO in June 2025, approximately six months later.
17. Between November 2024 and June 2025, Mrs R explains she sought medical clarity and continued to experience symptoms as well as attending ongoing appointments and sought a private diagnosis which limited the time she had for the complaint processes.
18. We have considered Mrs R’s reasons for delay.
19. We recognise the personal and health-related challenges Mrs R faced at the time. The records demonstrate she was able to submit her initial complaint in May 2024 and pursue local resolution. This demonstrates her ability to engage with the process during this period.
20. Given the Trust provided Mrs R with clear instructions to escalate her complaint to us, we believe it would have been reasonable for her to bring her complaint to us sooner. She demonstrated the ability to engage with the Trust, and we feel she could have contacted us within the required time limit. We do not see sufficient reason to put this time to one side.
21. Overall, the complaint is approximately five months and six days out of time. While Mrs R has drawn our attention to some circumstances which caused delay, we do not consider they were so significant as to account for this whole period of time. We have not identified any mitigating or exceptional circumstances which would allow us to set the time limit aside for Mrs R’s complaint, and for this reason we are unable to consider her concerns.
22. We recognise this will be disappointing for Mrs R, given the ongoing concerns she has and the impact this has had on her wellbeing.