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 21 results matching "East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust"
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-005101)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Communication
Communication
End of life care
Nursing care
Nursing care
Nursing care
Complaint handling
AI summary: Miss M complained about various aspects of her father's care, including communication of cancer diagnosis, palliative care delay, and personal care neglect.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-005050)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mr. A complained the Trust refused him dental implants, failing to consider his dentist's view, medical history, and previous intolerance to dentures.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-005048)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Referral
Charges
AI summary: Mr. J complained the Trust mishandled his urgent suspected cancer referral and refused to compensate him for private treatment costs.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-004249)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Confidentiality, privacy and safeguarding
Diagnosis
Drugs / medication
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
AI summary: Mrs A complained the Trust misdiagnosed her headache, gave incorrect medication, and improperly discharged her from services, leading to a lifelong condition and impacting her mental health.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-004440)
NHS in England
Upheld
Diagnosis
Complaint handling
AI summary: Mr E complained the Trust misdiagnosed and improperly treated his hand injuries, causing permanent damage, and also handled his subsequent complaint poorly.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-003999)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Diagnosis
Record keeping and management
Diagnosis
Death, mortuary and post-mortem arrangements
AI summary: Mrs E complained the Trust failed to diagnose her father after surgery, poorly managed sepsis, lacked awareness of blood clots, and did not refer his death to the coroner, causing his death.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-004087)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Nursing care
Diagnosis
Record keeping and management
Complaint handling
AI summary: Mr N complained the Trust provided incorrect initial treatment, poor personal care, inaccurate records, and delayed seeing a doctor, alongside an unclear complaints process.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-003751)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Treatment
Drugs / medication
AI summary: Mrs S complained about delays in her husband's feeding, cancelled tests, and inappropriate discharges. She also alleged antidepressants were stopped for two weeks, causing severe depression.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-003663)
NHS in England
Upheld
Treatment
Surgery
Communication
AI summary: Mrs M complained about her husband's lack of treatment, an incorrect gastroscopy decision, and poor communication, believing these failings contributed to his premature death.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-003657)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Treatment
Communication
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Tests
AI summary: Mr P complained of delayed treatment and handover by the ambulance service, and delayed admission and family notification by the hospital Trust, contributing to his father's death.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-003611)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
AI summary: Mrs A complained East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust discharged her too soon after colon surgery, leading to an undetected wound infection that ruptured, required further surgery, and delayed chemotherapy.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-003131)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Communication
AI summary: Mrs B complained the Trust failed to contact her when her husband was hospitalised, preventing her involvement in care decisions and saying goodbye before his death.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-003087)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Treatment
Treatment
AI summary: Mrs C complained the Trust did not provide appropriate cardiac care and monitoring and overloaded her brother with fluid during infusions, leading to his deterioration, ineligibility for surgery, and shortened life.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-002852)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mrs K complained about her husband's hospital care, including delayed sepsis checks, poor communication, multiple falls, and inadequate end-of-life care, believing it caused his untimely death.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-002885)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Drugs / medication
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Communication
AI summary: A doctor complained about multiple issues in her late husband's care, including inappropriate ward transfer, incorrect medication dosage, unsuitable discharge, and poor communication.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-002738)
NHS in England
Upheld
Diagnosis
Diagnosis
AI summary: Ms S complained the Trust failed to diagnose her hernia from September 2019, causing years of pain, distress, and anxiety until surgery in May 2022.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-002638)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Nursing care
COVID-19
AI summary: Miss R complained the Trust failed to assess her father's swallow and did not isolate him, leading to aspiration pneumonia and COVID-19, which she believes contributed to his death.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-002335)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
None
AI summary: Mrs T complained her mother was incorrectly given glucose gel while semi-unconscious and not treated for coughing. She alleged this caused lung damage, delayed treatment, and led to her mother's death.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-001991)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mrs O complained the Trust wrongly refused to admit her husband to ED multiple times for leg pain due to bed unavailability and incorrect decisions, leading to distress and premature death.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-002005)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mrs A complained about inadequate oncology and neurology care for Mr A, including incorrectly reported scans, a missed brain tumour diagnosis opportunity, and failure to provide pain relief.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (P-001063)
NHS in England
Upheld
None
AI summary: Miss A complained her father received inadequate nutrition, Parkinson's medication, physiotherapy, and pressure sore management, experiencing poor care and staff rudeness.
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.