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 12 results matching "Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust"
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-005136)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Access
Access
Miss L has raised concerns about the waiting times for an autism assessment and not being prioritised.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-004570)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Communication
AI summary: The Trust failed to provide support/treatment since March 2024, incorrectly discharged her in October 2024, and communicated poorly.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-003744)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Administration
Communication
AI summary: Ms L complained her daughter's mental health practitioner advised her to lie and made misrepresenting comments about Ms L. She also alleged the Trust failed to improve care despite previous complaints.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-003700)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Referral
Complaint handling
Record keeping and management
Complaint handling
Complaint handling
AI summary: Ms F complained Dr A discussed her daughter E's needs with another service without consent, lied about disclosures, and about missing records and poor complaint handling.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-003572)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
AI summary: Mr A complained of excessive delays in mental health care, misdiagnosis, lack of treatment plans, medication mismanagement, and premature discharge, severely worsening his mental health.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-003140)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Drugs / medication
Confidentiality, privacy and safeguarding
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
AI summary: The Trust allegedly failed to exercise due care prescribing sertraline to Mr N, did not respond to behaviour changes, and lacked appropriate monitoring.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-003098)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
Treatment
Communication
Referral
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
AI summary: Miss K complained her EMDR therapy was unsuccessful due to the Trust not ordering buzzers, lack of continuity, her therapist's authoritative manner, and refusal to refer her to the crisis team.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-002532)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Drugs / medication
Referral
Referral
Communication
Referral
Referral
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
AI summary: Mr R complained the Trust failed to recognize his deteriorating mental health, delaying referrals and support for various conditions, and not informing his school about suicidal ideation. He sought acknowledgement and payment.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-002405)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Drugs / medication
AI summary: Mrs E complained Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust failed to check her past medical history when prescribing ADHD medication, causing distress and feeling doubted.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-002361)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Tests
Access
Drugs / medication
Tests
COVID-19
Treatment
COVID-19
Hospital acquired infection / healthcare-associated infection
Diagnosis
Communication
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Hospital acquired infection / healthcare-associated infection
Access
Drugs / medication
Diagnosis
Treatment
AI summary: Mrs A complained SPFT failed to appropriately treat her husband's dementia, leading to rapid deterioration and death. She also complained UHSFT discharged him when he was unfit, contributing to his death.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-002273)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Access
AI summary: Mr G complained the Trust provided inadequate care for his daughter, Miss J, by delaying urgent appointments, using non-medical staff, and ignoring an overseas diagnosis. He also alleged staff slandered him in her records.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (P-003835)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
Treatment
Treatment
AI summary: Mrs B complained CAMHS failed to provide appropriate one-to-one therapy for her daughter, delayed medication, and did not monitor her physical health despite self-harm and low weight.
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.