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 14 results matching "United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust"
United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (P-004397)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Treatment
Referral
AI summary: Ms R complained the Trust delayed seeing her for a large hiatus hernia referral in April 2022, leading to worsening health and irreparable oesophageal damage.
United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (P-003294)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Risk assessment
Diagnosis
Access
Communication
Nursing care
Referral
AI summary: Miss B complained United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust prematurely discharged her father, left him on a trolley, failed to provide specialist stroke care, delayed an MRI, and provided inadequate nursing and discharge communication.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-002922)
NHS in England
Upheld
Treatment
Drugs / medication
End of life care
Treatment
AI summary: Mrs G complained the Trust poorly managed her husband's diabetes medication, delayed a diabetic nurse visit, wrongly placed him on end-of-life care, and failed to consider their wishes regarding a DNACPR.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-002935)
NHS in England
Upheld
Drugs / medication
Surgery
Treatment
Treatment
Treatment
AI summary: Mrs L complained the Trust failed to advise her husband to stop anticoagulants before a procedure, resulting in a kidney injury, inadequate pain relief, and poor monitoring for internal bleeding, leading to his premature death.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-002834)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Diagnosis
Drugs / medication
AI summary: Mrs Z complained the Trust failed to diagnose her mother's cancer, despite symptoms and tests, and delayed pain management, leading to stage 4 cancer and suffering.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-002832)
NHS in England
Upheld
Communication
Communication
Treatment
Communication
Treatment
Transfer, discharge and aftercare
Treatment
Nursing care
Nursing care
AI summary: Ms O complained the Trust poorly communicated, failed to provide an appropriate diet, delayed rehabilitation, and poorly coordinated her brother's discharge, which she said contributed to his death. She also cited poor ED care.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-003889)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Nursing care
AI summary: Miss A complained her father died from aspiration pneumonia after being given a ham sandwich during a 'fit for discharge' assessment, despite needing a thick liquid diet.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-002057)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Diagnosis
Treatment
AI summary: Ms A alleged the Trust dismissed and misdiagnosed her medical symptoms across three years due to previous mental health issues, potentially missing conditions and causing distress.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-001930)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Communication
Access
Nursing care
Treatment
AI summary: Mr L complained the Trust mismanaged his late wife's vulnerability and treatment, failed to communicate with him, restricted visits, and incorrectly recorded her death.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-001949)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Treatment
Communication
AI summary: Mrs N complained the Trust administered a hepatitis B injection incorrectly and gave wrong information on side effects, causing prolonged pain and stiffness.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-001746)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
None
AI summary: The Trust discharged Mr O without providing necessary rehabilitation treatment after his accident, leading to ongoing cognitive impairment and significant impact on his family.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-001499)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Nursing care
Drugs / medication
AI summary: Mr E complained the Trust did not properly manage his late wife's nutritional requirements or administer her regular medicines, questioning if better care could have prolonged her life.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-001459)
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
End of life care
Treatment
Nursing care
AI summary: Mrs N complained staff did not fully investigate her husband's initial symptoms, and about a fall, catheter delays, nutrition, oral thrush treatment, and end-of-life decisions during later admissions.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (P-001293)
NHS in England
Closed After Initial Enquiries
End of life care
AI summary: Ms A complained the Trust inappropriately discharged her client, Mr H, to an empty home instead of a hospice, leading to him being found distressed and dying two days later.
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.