East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust

4. Mrs H complains about the care and treatment she received in April 2023 from the Trust following a Latera Implant Procedure (nasal implant designed to support the lateral nasal cartilage, helping to alleviate nasal obstruction symptoms and improve airflow).

5. Mrs H complains: • she was not provided with sufficient information to make informed consent • during surgery, under a local anaesthetic, her well-being was not considered • she was given insufficient information on post operative care • she has been left with a lump to the side of her nose at the surgery site which is painful and noticeable.

6. Mrs H informs us this was a new surgical technique, and she is distressed this was the only procedure offered. During surgery she was emotionally distressed and post-surgery, due to the minimal information provided, she drove home wearing glasses which sat directly on the surgical site causing pain. Mrs H informs us the lump on the side of her nose is noticeable and her glasses sit directly on this lump making it both painful and distressing.

7. Mrs H says she is seeking an apology from the Trust and an acknowledgment the procedure was not completed correctly. She is also seeking a financial remedy for the costs incurred from repeated consultation visits to the Trust and having to purchase new glasses to avoid contact with the surgical site.

8. Mrs H was referred for a procedure on her nose in 2019. She had previously had surgery on her nose. Due to COVID restrictions Mrs H declined an initial procedure because of the extended recovery times involved.

9. In 2022 the Trust discussed a new surgical procedure with Mrs H. The Latera Implant is a nasal implant designed to support the lateral nasal cartilage. She agreed to undergo this procedure as it required only a local anaesthetic.

10. Mrs H underwent the surgery in April 2023.

11. Mrs H complained to the Trust on 11 July 2023. The Trust responded on 1 September 2023. She brought her complaint to us in July 2025.

14. 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. We have discussed this with Mrs H to understand the reasons why she could not do so.

15. Mrs H had the surgery in April 2023. She was aware of not having sufficient information to make informed consent, her wellbeing not being considered and the lack of information about post operative care at the time of the surgery. To be within our time limit, Mrs H needed to bring her complaint to us by April 2024. She brought her complaint to us in July 2025, 15 months outside our time limit.

16. Mrs H was seen in outpatients in July 2023 where the Trust noted the lump to Mrs H’s nose. There has been no change the lump since. Mrs H was aware of the pain and distress the lump was causing to her from at least July 2023. To be within our time limit, she needed to complain to us by July 2024. She brought her complaint to us in July 2025, 12 months outside our time limit.

17. We spoke to Mrs H about her complaint and the delay in sending it to us. She stated she was unaware of only having 12 months to make her complaint to us.

18. The Trust’s complaint response provides information about how to complaint to us and a link to our website where information on the timescales is available.

19. Mrs H informed us her husband had heart problems and required heart surgery in November 2023. She took one week’s compassionate leave from work to care for her husband after surgery. She states she was able to return to work but found caring for her husband and problems at work too stressful. Mrs H inform us she was signed off unfit for work in December 2023. She does not say she was unable to function but told us she was receiving some counselling to manage her work stress and husband’s illness. She returned to work in February 2024.

20. Mrs H explains between February 2024 and April 2024 the problems at work continued. She says she applied for flexible working and when this was refused, she appealed the decision with her manager, providing documentation from her GP. We accept this would have been a stressful time for her, but she demonstrates she is able to negotiate a complaints and appeal procedure at work and on this basis, we consider she could have progressed her complaint with us.

21. In April 2024 Mrs H was again signed off work due to stress and she made a complaint to her employer about bullying. She remained off work until May 2025 when her employment ended with a negotiated settlement. Mrs H made her complaint to us in July 2025, two months after the conclusion of her employment dispute. We recognise this would have been a stressful time for her, but she demonstrates an ability to negotiate a complex employment dispute and so we can find no mitigation for her delay in making a complaint to us from April 2024.

22. Mrs H says from October 2024 her father was attending medical appointments and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2025. She explains she attended medical consultations with her father, transporting him to hospital and attending the consultations as emotional support. She was not able to provide an exact number of appointments she attended but she stresses there were several before a diagnosis was made for her father’s symptoms. We recognise any investigations and a diagnosis can be stressful and attending medical appointments can be time consuming, but it is not reasonable to put aside this time due to her father’s medical issues.

23. Mrs H was not able to provide any additional information as to why she was unable to make a complaint to us in the five months between April 2024 and October 2024.

24. Overall, we have seen some mitigation for the delay, but we find there is not sufficient reasons for the substantial delay of over 12 months in raising her complaint with us. For this reason, we have decided not to put aside the time limit and we will not consider the complaint any further.

25. It is important we consider and act within the Law and we regret any further upset this decision may cause Mrs H. We hope this statement clearly explains our reasons and shows how carefully we have considered this.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs H’s complaint about East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust (the Trust). The complaint falls outside of our time limit, and we have decided there is no good reason for us to put our time limit aside to consider it further

2. We recognise Mrs H had a traumatic time during surgery, and she now has a noticeable lump on the side of her nose. She has informed us how much this has affected her, and we are very sorry to hear this. We have taken Mrs H’s concerns seriously and carefully considered them. Having done so, we do not see reason to set our time limit aside.

3. We fully acknowledge our decision will be profoundly disappointing to Mrs H given how long she has been seeking answers to her concerns. We are sorry for any further distress this may cause. We hope our explanations below show how we have fully considered this.