Press releases

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has today published its response to a Review of the way it uses clinical advice in NHS-related casework. The Review Steering Group, chaired by Sir Alex Allan KCB, PHSO non-executive board member, with independent...

A grandmother’s death following a low-risk, routine hip replacement operation was avoidable, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has found. A catalogue of errors at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, including failing to properly monitor and treat...

A Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report published today reveals significant weaknesses in the way the Care Quality Commission (CQC) used the NHS ‘fit and proper’ person test. The Ombudsman carried out an independent investigation into a whistle-blower’s complaint about...

An elderly man with Alzheimer’s disease died following a fall from bed when an agency night carer failed to attend his home. A Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman investigation found service failings by the nursing agency and made recommendations to...

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman could provide justice for more people if it had the power to launch investigations without the need for a formal complaint, according to an independent review published today. The review led by the Ombudsman...

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman announced today that former Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson has been appointed as Independent Adviser to a major review of the Ombudsman’s clinical advice process. The Ombudsman has also announced today the launch...

A 26-year-old woman’s death from sepsis was avoidable, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has found. Staff at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust did not diagnose and treat the life-threatening condition quickly enough, and she...

A 73-year-old grandmother’s death from bladder cancer was avoidable, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has found. She died following a hospital’s nine-month delay to diagnose her. An inadequate local investigation failed to recognise this, and...

Vulnerable patients with mental health conditions are being badly let down by the NHS, causing them and their families needless suffering and distress, according to a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report published today. The Ombudsman has also found that...

A young woman’s death from anorexia nervosa would have been prevented had the NHS provided appropriate care and treatment, according to a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report published today. Averil Hart died on 15 December 2012, aged only...