PHSO Casework Decisions
3,622 published casework decisions from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (Apr 2021–Mar 2026). PHSO selects a subset of completed investigations for public publication — these 3,622 decisions represent approximately 1.1% of the 321,459 total complaints received across the same period. Source: decisions.ombudsman.org.uk.
3,622
Published Decisions
3,089
Health
533
Parliamentary (Govt)
18%
Upheld / Partly Upheld
Showing 45 results matching "Barts Health NHS Trust"
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-005108)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Treatment
Diagnosis
AI summary: Miss R complained about a failure to remove a pregnancy in 2022 and a failure to consider her pain following childbirth in 2023.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-005045)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Treatment
Treatment
Treatment
Treatment
AI summary: Mr Y complained about inadequate surveillance after an angioplasty, delayed communication about a stent occlusion, and inappropriate monitoring, leading to a deterioration in his arteries and eventual amputation.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-004919)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Drugs / medication
AI summary: Miss A complained the Trust repeatedly failed to provide her with safe, timely medication, causing risk of adrenal crisis and trauma.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-004781)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mr K complained about the care and treatment provided by the Trust to Mr K during hospital admissions from November 2023 to February 2024, when Mr K sadly died.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-004463)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Surgery
Communication
Drugs / medication
AI summary: Mrs O complained about inadequate breast cancer care, including incorrect magseed insertion by an unannounced trainee and wrong antibiotics, leading to pain, disfigurement, and distress.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-004433)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Abuse
None
Abuse
AI summary: Dr G complained Barts Health did not respect her opinions, lied in medical records, treated her son disrespectfully during transfer, and failed to provide food/medication, leading to fear of hospitals and increased seizures.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-004424)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Risk assessment
AI summary: Her father was assaulted in the Emergency Department due to the Trust's failure to assess and manage a high-risk patient, causing significant injuries and family trauma.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-004245)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
AI summary: Mrs V complained her father developed sepsis due to poor infection control at GST Trust, and Barts Trust's ACCESS service failed to connect his chest drain, contributing to his death.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-004077)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Tests
AI summary: Mr W complained the Trust unsafely discharged his mother multiple times without adequately treating her pneumonia, leading to her deterioration and death. He sought acknowledgment and apology.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-003970)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
Treatment
Treatment
Treatment
AI summary: Mr P complained the Trust failed to act on gallstone scans, provided an inappropriate ERCP by a trainee, and did not effectively treat infections, leading to his wife's early death.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-004083)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Diagnosis
Diagnosis
AI summary: Ms C complained doctors at two Trust hospitals and GPs failed to diagnose her brother's stomach cancer and sepsis, leading to a late diagnosis and his death.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-003711)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Communication
Access
Treatment
Complaint handling
Confidentiality, privacy and safeguarding
Nursing care
AI summary: Miss K complained about multiple failings in her son's continence care, an A&E visit, an inpatient admission, and physiotherapy over several years.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-003676)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
Communication
Facilities and cleanliness
AI summary: Mr H complained clinicians failed to properly monitor and medicate his mother, and had poor communication/cleanliness, believing these failures contributed to her death.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-003499)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Diagnosis
AI summary: Miss H complained her mother received poor care, including false hope, lack of consent for procedures, missed pneumonia signs, and poor communication, leading to her death.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-003421)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Diagnosis
Treatment
AI summary: Miss F complained the Trust failed to diagnose her father's cancer early enough and provide necessary treatment, leading to his premature death.
A practice in the Newham area (P-003181)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
Nursing care
AI summary: Mr B complained staff failed to monitor his father, who pulled out his oxygen tube, leading to low oxygen, infections, pain, and potentially hastening his death.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-003220)
NHS in England
Not Upheld
Access
AI summary: Mrs M complained the Trust delayed treating her husband's acute leukaemia, leading to his condition worsening and eventual death. She believed earlier treatment was possible.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-003092)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mr O complained the Trust failed to facilitate his baby's delivery, alleging the doctor was unprepared. This led to the baby falling onto the bed and sustaining fatal injuries from a brain bleed.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-002916)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Drugs / medication
Drugs / medication
Communication
Nursing care
Communication
End of life care
Communication
AI summary: Ms P complained the Trust failed to prescribe pneumonia medication, provide pain relief/antibiotics, offer suitable food, withdrew antibiotics without consent, and poorly communicated her father's deterioration.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-002986)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mr G complained about poor communication, inadequate care (fluids, antibiotics, nutrition), and lack of assessment for his father, whose condition rapidly deteriorated, leading to an avoidable death.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-002940)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mr H complained trainee surgeons incorrectly performed his tonsillectomy, only partially removing his tonsils, causing him pain, discomfort, a lisp, and requiring a further operation.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-002874)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
Communication
Complaint handling
AI summary: Miss E complained her late father sustained injuries, lacked planned one-to-one care and scans, had an improperly changed catheter, and was unsafely discharged without palliative care, alongside poor communication.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-002849)
NHS in England
Not Upheld
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
AI summary: Ms E complained the Trust transferred her sister too soon, provided inadequate physiotherapy, incorrectly advised on PEG tube removal, and discharged her without proper training, equipment, or timely referrals.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-002840)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mr A complained his mother did not receive surgery for perforated bowel or treatment for pneumonia/ruptured appendix, was misinformed about end-of-life care, and staff gave insufficient notice of her death.
Barts Health NHS Trust (P-002839)
NHS in England
Upheld
Communication
Nursing care
Treatment
Communication
Complaint handling
AI summary: Mrs R complained about an unconsulted DNACPR order, inadequate nursing care (pain relief, food/drink), misleading information about her husband's deteriorating condition, and denial of family visits.
Upheld / Partly Upheld
259 + 397
18% of decisions found fault with the organisation complained about.
Not Upheld
247
Complaint investigated but no fault found. 1 resolved during investigation.
Closed After Initial Enquiries
2,718
PHSO decided not to proceed to full investigation.
Most complained-about:
HM Revenue and Customs (80), University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (72), NHS England (62), Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (50), HM Courts and Tribunals Service (48).
Published Decisions Over Time
Excludes 2,718 closed before investigation. Quarterly, by outcome.
Annual Complaints (PHSO-wide)
Official PHSO annual statistics across all organisations
| Year | Received | Investigated | Upheld | Upheld % | Remedy % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 54,478 | 12,275 | 1,216 | 9.9% | 0% |
| 2020-21 | 44,139 | 7,822 | 617 | 7.9% | 0% |
| 2021-22 | 62,553 | 13,426 | 727 | 5.4% | 0% |
| 2022-23 | 61,297 | 15,734 | 782 | 5.0% | 0% |
| 2023-24 | 63,471 | 17,321 | 946 | 5.5% | 0% |
| 2024-25 | 35,521 | 10,070 | 519 | 5.2% | 0% |
Remedy % = percentage of PHSO remedies complied with on time
Top Themes
Themes by Upheld Rate
AI-classified themes across PHSO casework decisions
| Theme | Decisions | Upheld | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delayed Recognition of Deterioration | 747 | 184 | 25% |
| Complaint record keeping failures | 632 | 108 | 17% |
| Clinical negligence harms learning | 460 | 92 | 20% |
| Care plan failures | 436 | 121 | 28% |
| Care and discharge planning | 288 | 77 | 27% |
| No person-centred care | 215 | 46 | 21% |
| Inaccurate and inaccessible patient records | 204 | 37 | 18% |
| Patient dignity and privacy | 147 | 40 | 27% |
| Inadequate Pre-Operative Risk Assessment | 136 | 44 | 32% |
| Duty of Candour implementation | 134 | 43 | 32% |
| Medication Contamination/Misadministration | 128 | 33 | 26% |
| DWP policy impact assessment | 106 | 12 | 11% |
| Poor health and social care integration | 97 | 21 | 22% |
| Mental Health Crisis Referral Delays | 74 | 10 | 14% |
| Coroner family information gaps | 74 | 25 | 34% |
PHSO Complaint Categories
PHSO Categories by Upheld Rate
PHSO's own issue classifications — broad categories such as 'Treatment' cover a wide range of clinical complaints
| Category | Decisions | Upheld | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment | 1,610 | 418 | 26% |
| Diagnosis | 850 | 206 | 24% |
| Communication | 792 | 233 | 29% |
| Complaint handling | 534 | 161 | 30% |
| Drugs / medication | 463 | 130 | 28% |
| Nursing care | 388 | 154 | 40% |
| Access | 363 | 87 | 24% |
| Transfer, discharge and aftercare | 353 | 119 | 34% |
| Referral | 262 | 58 | 22% |
| Administration | 191 | 30 | 16% |
| End of life care | 170 | 50 | 29% |
| Choice and Consent | 165 | 48 | 29% |
| Continuing healthcare | 160 | 14 | 9% |
| Surgery | 145 | 32 | 22% |
| Record keeping and management | 133 | 30 | 23% |
Organisation Accountability
Combines PHSO annual complaint statistics (volume, remedy compliance) with published decisions portal data (uphold rate). Sorted by upheld rate for organisations with 5+ investigated decisions. Benchmark: 73% average upheld rate among fully investigated decisions. This differs from the headline 18% figure, which includes all 3,340 published decisions — most of which were closed before full investigation (upheld/not upheld only applies to fully investigated cases). Sparklines show complaint volumes received 2019–20 → 2024–25.
Received = complaints received in most recent year (PHSO annual data). Remedy compliance = % of PHSO-recommended remedies complied with across all available years. — = no data in that dataset for this organisation.