Miss B complained that the Trust declined to investigate her concerns about the care and treatment her late mother received in 2009 because it said her complaint was 'out of time'.
What happened
Mrs B was an inpatient at the Trust in 2009. She died while she was in hospital. Miss B said that at the time, staff were unable to explain what had happened or why her mother's condition suddenly deteriorated.
Soon after, Miss B had serious and debilitating health problems of her own. She said that this prevented her from making a complaint about her mother's care and treatment.
Miss B complained to the Trust in autumn 2012. It said that her complaint could not be investigated because complaints had to be made within 12 months, and hers was therefore 'out of time'.
What we found
The regulations that set out how NHS complaints are handled do have a time limit for making complaints. However, the regulations also say that the time limit shall not apply if the responsible organisation is satisfied that the complainant had good reasons for not making the complaint within that time limit. Also that it is still possible to investigate the complaint effectively and fairly, in spite of the delay.
The Trust failed to ask Miss B about the reasons for the delay in making her complaint. Also, the Trust's response to her complaint did not clearly explain the reasons for not investigating the complaint, and incorrectly said that it was not possible for it to look at the complaint. We considered that Miss B had legitimate reasons and good evidence for not complaining sooner. Her concerns could have been addressed using the available medical records.
Had the Trust asked Miss B about the reasons for not complaining sooner, it would have been appropriate for the Trust to investigate and respond to her concerns.
The Trust's faults meant that Miss B still did not have answers to her questions about her mother's care, which was a continued source of distress for her.
Putting it right
The Trust apologised for the distress and inconvenience caused to Miss B as a result of the faults identified and paid her £200 compensation. It also reconsidered its decision not to investigate her complaint about her mother's care, and produced an action plan to address the faults in complaint handling identified in our report.
University Hospitals Of Leicester NHS Trust
Leicester
Delayed replying to complaint
Did not apologise properly or do enough to put things right
Apology
Compensation for non-financial loss
Recommendation to learn lessons or draw up an action plan
Taking steps to put things right