10. 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 A to understand the reasons why she could not do so.
11. Mrs A told us she was aware she had reason to complain to the Trust in February 2021 after the birth of her child. She says she had a very traumatic birth, which was very different to her previous experiences. She states during labour she was in serious pain, and the labour was not progressing as it should have. Her ‘waters’ were broken manually and repeated for a second time. Mrs A says when she came to deliver her afterbirth there seemed to be a second umbilical cord and a second placenta. She recalls this was discussed between the midwives who were present. Her placenta was quickly removed from the room.
12. To be within our time limit, Mrs A needed to bring her case to us by February 2022. She brought her case to us in February 2024, two years outside of our time limit.
13. Mrs A made a complaint to the Trust in January 2024, two years and 11 months after the birth.
14. We asked Mrs A why it took almost three years to complain to the Trust about her experiences during the birth of her child. Mrs A said she was unable to complain sooner as following the birth she was severely depressed and visited her GP for help.
15. Mrs A says following her labour in February 2021 she recognised the symptoms of postnatal depression because she suffered from this after the birth of her first child. Mrs A tells us she did not receive any support on this occasion and so did not expect any help this time either. She says the health visitor was making regular visits and the health visitor understood how she was feeling but did not make any referrals. She delayed going to her GP for six to eight months because she felt it was unlikely she would receive any help.
16. Mrs A tells us she felt she had symptoms consistent with postnatal depression. She was not able to take medication to help her depression because she was breast feeding. The GP supported her primarily with monitoring appointments and intermittent checks from a health visitor. Mrs A tells us her GP did not refer her for urgent therapy at this time. She recalls being advised therapy would be beneficial but there was a long waiting list.
17. Mrs A explains to us she was not able to function after giving birth. Her partner managed the daily chores of running a busy household around his role as a carer. Mrs A says she helped in any way she was able to but only had a limited amount of energy and did not feel capable of functioning to her normal abilities. This lasted for several months, and she was only gradually able to take on more responsibility.
18. She says she told her partner about her concerns surrounding the birth during the time before she went to see her GP, but he did not provide her with the help she needed and so she was not strong enough to make an official complaint to the Trust.
19. Mrs A informs us she had a questionnaire from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and completed this and submitted it about six months after the birth. Mrs A explained her concerns and how she was feeling on the questionnaire, and she says she expected to hear something from the CQC. She did not receive a reply to her submission and did not feel strong enough to follow up on this.
20. We can see Mrs A had a difficult time following the birth of her baby and will put aside the eight months before she received support from her GP in December 2021.
21. Mrs A tells us she was gradually able to function and take on more responsibility. She became pregnant in June 2022 and gave birth to her fifth child in March 2023. She states she had a straightforward birth in stark contrast to her experience in February 2021. Mrs A says she was able to look after her child, and she did not require any additional support from her GP.
22. Mrs A informs us she began researching taking her complaint to a lawyer in December 2023. She was unable to find a lawyer to take her case but was given advice and made the complaint to the Trust on 5 January 2024.
23. We asked Mrs A why she was unable to make a complaint between December 2021 when she sought help from her GP and January 2024 when she called the Trust. Mrs A tells us she was caring for a newborn and four siblings. She states she was not emotionally strong enough to recognise or act upon her concerns. Mrs A says she has taken a considerable period of time to reach a point where she was mentally able to revisit the events and to seek clarity.
24. Before March 2023 we have seen evidence she discussed her concerns with her partner, sent information in a questionnaire to the CQC and sought assistance from her GP. We have not seen evidence it was unreasonable for Mrs A to make her complaint after March 2023. We accept Mrs A would have a great strain on her time due to having a newborn child and a large family, however, she has not told us of any reason why this changed after ten months. We have not seen sufficient reason to put aside this time.
25. The Trust responded to Mrs A’s complaint on 24 January 2024, three weeks after she submitted her complaint. The response stated, in line with its complaints policy, it was not able to process her complaint as it was outside of the time limit.
26. We will put aside the three-week delay, the Trust took to respond to Mrs A’s complaint as it was outside of her control.
27. After receiving the Trust’s response Mrs A made her complaint to us in a timely manner in February 2024.
28. In summary, we have not seen sufficient reason to put aside the significant delay between December 2021 and Mrs A raising her complaint to the Trust in January 2024. We therefore cannot look further into her complaint. We regret any further upset this decision may cause Mrs A. We hope this statement clearly explains the reasons why we will not be considering her complaint further.