Case Summaries

Changes were made to the structure of a placement that meant the ambulance-based component was reduced and the hospital-based component was increased. The provider upheld the students’ complaint and offered them £500 each in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by the changes. It also said it had already put some practical remedies in place to address some of the students’ concerns.

The students complained to us. They wanted a partial tuition fee refund and increased compensation for distress and inconvenience. We did not uphold the students’ complaint (we decided it was Not Justified) because we thought the provider’s offer and the steps it had already taken to mitigate the impact of the changes were reasonable.

Some of the factors that had influenced the decision to change the structure of the placement, such as the significant demand on ambulance services in the local area, were outside of the provider’s control. The provider explained that delays in ambulances being able to deliver patients to hospital meant that students were being exposed to fewer medical conditions during their shifts. While the structure of the placement was different to the structure the students had reasonably expected to receive, there was evidence to show that the changes were in keeping with the normal aims of the programme and would still allow the students to demonstrate they met the intended learning outcomes. The changes had also been approved by the profession’s regulatory body.

The provider had offered additional training opportunities for the students, including an externally accredited course. We thought that was a reasonable remedy for the students' concerns about the impact on their learning experience of spending less time on the ambulance-based component of the placement. The provider had accepted the changes had caused the students some distress and inconvenience and we thought its offer of £500 was a reasonable remedy for this. The offer was still open to the students.