Trust failed to give treatment in good time

What happened

Miss Y was referred to the Trust's young adult hip preserving service with hip pain. Staff told Miss Y there could be a delay of up to six months before she was treated, but in fact it was ten months before her treatment started because of a lack of available clinicians. During this time, Miss Y's condition deteriorated and she was also unable to continue with the sports coaching that was part of her career.

What we found

The Trust apologised to Miss Y for the delays in treatment. However, while the Trust was aware of the cause of most of the delays, it made no provision for alternative sources of treatment. Under the NHS Constitution, patients have a legal right to start their NHS consultant–led treatment within 18 weeks of referral. The Trust was aware of this right and failed to take action. It also wrongly said that it could not consider requests for compensation under the NHS complaints procedure and suggested that Miss Y take legal advice if she wished to pursue this.

Putting it right

The Trust acknowledged that there had been a systemic failure on its part and paid Miss Y compensation of £500 for the distress its failing caused her.