The Ombudsman found that, while the Clinic had been in email correspondence with Miss A, it had failed to provide a formal complaint response via the complaint procedure. The Ombudsman said this caused uncertainty and frustration for Miss A. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Clinic’s agreement to, within 3 weeks, provide the final complaint response, along with an apology and to explain why the complaint was not responded to in line with the formal complaint procedure.