Elective Surgery Waiting List Disparities
Disparities in elective surgery waiting lists, particularly affecting women, and the lack of financial support for patients to travel.
391 items
7 sources
Source spread
Where this theme appears
Elective Surgery Waiting List Disparities has been flagged across 7 independent accountability sources:
40 PFD reports
92 committee recs
1 PPO rec
1 NAO rec
1 PHSO rec
63 PHSO decisions
193 LGO/SPSO decisions
When the same issue appears across inquiries, coroner reports, and regulators independently, it indicates a recurring issue across the public record.
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Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
PFD Reports (40)
Ronald Perry
Concerns: Inconsistent criteria for requesting CT scans based on time of day or weekend leads to varying levels of care and risks missed diagnoses for patients 'out of hours'.
Response: The University Health Board states that its radiology service operates a full service during weekday hours, with emergency on-call service at all other times, and a CT scan would have …
Responded
Leslie Summerfield
Concerns: The withdrawal of urgent endoscopy services at a hospital, despite available resources, forces critically ill patients to be transported, causing unnecessary discomfort and potentially aggravating their conditions.
Overdue
David Mostari
Concerns: Urgent diagnostic tests were critically delayed over a weekend due to the hospital lacking a robust system for ensuring timely imaging, particularly for patients admitted outside of weekdays.
Response (D Mostari): The Trust developed and implemented a position statement/action plan to ensure a robust system for urgent tests and imaging, including publicizing service details on the trust intranet and extending pharmacy …
Responded
Sandra Wood
Concerns: The NHS Trust's lack of routine weekend CT scan facilities led to a critical delay in an urgent scan, proving too late for the patient.
Response (sandra wood): The Trust states they do have facilities to provide CT scans during weekends and that scans are carried out on all patients that require them, based on a clinical decision; …
Responded
Marilyn Anson
Concerns: Delays in urgent 'hot foot' clinic referrals, coupled with inadequate patient prioritisation and resource allocation, led to patient deterioration and death.
Overdue
Marina Fagan
Concerns: A nationwide shortage of neurologists leads to significant delays in accessing specialist care, including long outpatient waiting times and lack of out-of-hours neurological expertise in some hospitals.
Response (Department of Health): The Department of Health acknowledges the concerns about the availability of neurologists and waiting times, noting that it is the responsibility of providers to ensure appropriate staffing levels, and that …
Responded
Sarah Tyler
Concerns: Pervasive hospital admission delays due to insufficient beds were exacerbated by increased 'bed blocking' on weekends, stemming from reduced patient discharges. This systemic issue poses a significant risk to timely patient care.
Response: The Health Board is implementing an Unscheduled Care Plan in 2017/18 to improve waiting times for hospital admissions and reduce bed occupancy. The plan includes targets for each section and …
Responded
Patricia Donovan
Concerns: Surgery for a neck of femur fracture was delayed beyond NICE guidelines due to theatre staff and resource availability issues, despite the recognised risk of serious complications from prolonged waiting.
Overdue
Terrence George
Concerns: Most Trusts lacked local guidance for timely gallstone surgery post-pancreatitis despite international recommendations. Management did not prioritise this, indicating a need for national guidelines to ensure consistent, timely treatment.
Overdue
Kristina Cross
Concerns: Delayed surgical fixation of a traumatically fractured femur, caused by initial and subsequent misdiagnoses, led to post-operative complications and significantly contributed to the patient's death.
Overdue
Thomas Curtin
Concerns: Private mental health locked rehabilitation units lack a national framework for referral response times, potentially leaving patients on inappropriate wards and risking their safety.
Response (NHS England): NHS England is working with other bodies to improve national-level understanding of CCG commissioned rehabilitation services and support local areas to plan and commission the rehabilitation pathway more effectively, following …
Responded
Charles Williamson
Concerns: A shortage of appropriate neuro-rehabilitation beds in Greater Manchester is preventing early effective rehabilitation, increasing the risk of complications and death.
Response (Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership): Greater Manchester neuro-rehabilitation services have been undergoing transformation since 2016, with investment in community neuro-rehabilitation services in seven out of 12 areas and implementation planning for inpatient service transformation commenced …
Response (the Department of Health and Social Care): The Department of Health and Social Care states that the provision of neuro-rehabilitation services in Greater Manchester is a matter for local NHS commissioners. It acknowledges the GMHSCP is implementing …
Responded
Derek Weaver
Concerns: Capacity limitations due to a surge in referrals delayed critical surgery, leading to a higher chance of death due to sepsis. Insufficient resources and beds risk future preventable deaths.
Response (Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust): The Trust has implemented a new triage process managed by Site Nurse Practitioners, enabling prioritization of patients needing urgent admission within 48 hours. They are also looking at an electronic …
Response (the Department of Health): The Department of Health acknowledges the concerns, notes that NHS England is responding separately, and highlights peer review activities of thoracic services in London and oversight to ensure timely access …
Response (NHS England): NHS England is reviewing capacity for thoracic surgery, including critical care beds, in light of new lung cancer pilots and concerns raised. They will keep pathways under review to ensure …
Responded
Shirley Nightingale
Concerns: No clear system existed for escalating or prioritizing urgent OGD procedures when capacity was an issue. Additionally, deviations from best practice timescales lacked documented rationale or senior clinician approval.
Overdue
Brian Murphy
Concerns: Systemic delays in scheduling cardiology tests and subsequent patient referrals to specialists caused significant backlogs, hindering timely diagnosis and treatment.
Response (Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group): Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group states that the correct processes and pathways were followed from the point of consultation with the GP through to the ordering of the echocardiogram and referral …
Responded
James Curry
Concerns: Persistent bed shortages caused elderly hip fracture patients to endure lengthy Emergency Department waits, hindering timely orthogeriatric care and preventing surgery within NICE guideline timescales. This impacts patient outcomes and mortality.
Response (NHS Greater Manchester): Learning from this case will be presented/shared with the Greater Manchester System Quality Group and cascaded to professionals through relevant governance and learning forums to improve outcomes for the population …
Response (Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust): Response contains no content.
Responded
Margaret Warwick
Concerns: Significant delays in a hip fracture patient's care were caused by a shortage of cardiologists, particularly during weekends, and further compounded by theatre capacity and High Dependency Unit bed shortages.
Overdue
Kellum Thomas
Concerns: The patient lacked a cardiac monitoring device for 18 months due to a poor system for identifying battery end-of-life and excessively long replacement waiting lists. Additionally, crucial outpatient letters were significantly delayed.
Overdue
Violet Howard
Concerns: There is a critical gap in dermatology commissioning for Royal Oldham Hospital inpatients, excluding those from outside the local area unless their skin condition becomes an emergency.
Response (NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care): NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care states that the issue is a gap in acute provision rather than a commissioning gap and is being addressed by the Care Organisation via a …
Responded
Irene Davies
Concerns: Extended surgery wait times due to COVID backlogs and severe ambulance availability issues led to significant delays in critical care, causing distress and impacting patient outcomes.
Response (Department of Health and Social Care): The NHS is implementing several measures to address elective surgery waiting times and ambulance handover delays, including expanding the use of surgical hubs, increasing bed capacity, and establishing 24/7 System …
Responded
Maureen Harrop
Concerns: Prolonged waits in the Emergency Department due to bed shortages and delays in essential surgery due to theatre capacity severely impacted the patient's physiological reserves and overall outcome.
Response (NHS England): Tameside and Glossop ICFT has implemented a fractured neck of femur improvement programme, monitors compliance daily via the Divisional senior leadership team, and submits data to the National Hip Fracture …
Responded
Ellen MacFarlane
Concerns: Critical ambulance delays are common due to high demand and staffing shortages. Additionally, weekend availability of cardiac tests at district general hospitals delays urgent surgery, contradicting best practice.
Response (Department of Health and Social Care): The Department of Health and Social Care notes the concerns regarding ambulance response times and access to hospital services and says that ambulance performance is reviewed regularly. More broadly the …
Responded
Douglas Nickols
Concerns: The hospital consistently fails to meet NICE guidelines for hip fracture surgery within the recommended timeframe, delaying early mobilisation and increasing patients' risk of complications like pneumonia.
Overdue
Holly Mullan
Concerns: Significant and prolonged NHS waiting times for gastroenterology and gynaecology referrals post-Covid are causing distress, delaying diagnoses, and impeding crucial treatment for patients with severe conditions.
Response (NHS England): NHS England acknowledges concerns about increased waiting times for gastroenterology and gynaecology, and outlines the Delivery Plan for Tackling the COVID-19 Backlog of Elective Care. They are implementing the national …
Responded
Kathleen Booth
Concerns: A significant delay in critical surgery was caused by NHS-wide understaffing, underfunding, and limited weekend cover, disadvantaging patients with injuries sustained on Fridays.
Response (NHS England): NHS England acknowledges concerns about understaffing/funding and the impact of weekend care. They describe national programs like the 7-Day Hospital Services Programme and the Delivery plan for recovering urgent and …
Response (University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust): The Trust outlines the circumstances of the death and explains surgical prioritisation. They have introduced a dedicated fragility fracture theatre list 5 days per week and are reviewing the need …
Responded
Anthony Williams
Concerns: National shortages of specialist scanning facilities and delays in the two-week cancer pathway lead to delayed diagnoses and treatments, resulting in poorer patient outcomes and advanced disease.
Response (NHS England): NHS England published image report turnaround time guidance and a delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care. They are also supporting Trusts to increase reporting capacity and …
Responded
Jasbir Pahal
Concerns: The hyper-acute stroke unit offers a thrombectomy service for only 20.8% of the week, denying patients crucial time-sensitive treatment based on their home address and time of stroke.
Overdue
Gregor Lynn
Concerns: A cost barrier in private healthcare discourages patients from crucial histological analysis of lesions, unlike NHS treatment where it's included, risking delayed cancer detection for those not meeting NHS referral criteria.
Response (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough): NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board have signposted all GPs working for the NHS within to guidance on detection of skin cancers, reminded them to refer any skin lesions …
Response (NHS England): NHS England stated that the ICS have reminded all GPs within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System of the guidance on skin cancers, shared the benign skin lesion policy, and …
Response (Department of Health and Social Care): The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged the concerns and stated that NHS England has responded to the coroner in detail. They reiterated the importance of patient safety and …
Responded
Elizabeth Brown
Concerns: Significant national shortages of qualified immunology staff lead to prolonged patient waiting times and treatment delays, posing risks to patient health.
Response (NHS England): NHS England is working nationally to deliver the Long-Term Workforce Plan, has discussed all reports received by the Regulation 28 Working Group, and will ask colleagues to share learnings and …
Responded
James Cockburn
Concerns: National delays in cardiac appointments and diagnostic tests, exacerbated by staff shortages and incompatible inter-Trust IT systems, caused critical delays in treatment and assessment for life-saving surgery.
Response (NHS England): NHS England is working at a national level to deliver the Long-Term Workforce Plan to address staffing shortages. They also mention plans for collaboration between Patient Safety and Digital Clinical …
Response (Greater Manchester Integrated Care): NHS Greater Manchester acknowledges concerns about delays in cardiac services and highlights the GM Care Record. They will challenge leaders supporting digital transformation to improve the interface between secondary and …
Responded
Lorraine Procter
Concerns: Significant national backlogs for cardiology appointments cause patients to wait over 40 weeks, delaying specialist input and increasing the risk of complications and death.
Response (Department of Health and Social Care): The Department of Health and Social Care aims to meet the NHS Constitutional standard of 92% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment (RTT) by …
Responded
Noura Hardy
Concerns: Excessively long national waiting lists for heart treatment, particularly for patients with weakened heart muscles due to long-term steroid use, pose a fatal risk despite local improvements.
Response (Department of Health and Social Care): The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledges concerns about waiting times for heart treatment and highlights commitment to reducing waiting lists, but notes the Trust believed the patient's complication …
Pending
David Curry
Concerns: A critical surgery for an obstructed kidney was delayed by five months due to lack of NHS theatre capacity, increasing the patient's sepsis risk, leading to the patient seeking private care and subsequently dying from sepsis.
Response (Department of Health and Social Care): The Department of Health and Social Care addresses concerns about waiting lists and risks and highlights regional support to challenged Trusts, including the opening of a new orthopaedic centre and …
Responded
Sara Grinnell
Concerns: Extensive and repeated delays in urgent gynaecology appointments, relying only on written correspondence, resulted in a significant 24-month diagnostic delay. There were missed opportunities to escalate urgency upon re-referral.
Response (Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board): Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board is undertaking several actions to address referral delays including implementation of a new RTT pathway, harm review process, and workforce improvements including securing administrative …
Responded
Junior Powell
Concerns: Significant hospital delays in patient review and admission, caused by staff shortages and social care discharge bottlenecks, led to a critical delay in definitive treatment for an aortic dissection, contributing to the patient's death.
Overdue
Karen Dack
Concerns: Repeated last-minute surgery cancellations are occurring due to insufficient theatre capacity. Despite prioritization reviews, a lack of theatre expansion means this systemic issue risks future deaths.
Response (Department of Health and Social Care): The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has changed its process for emergency theatre booking and improved documentation. A Patient Safety Incident Investigation (PSII) is underway, and the Trust is …
Responded
Carla Smith
Concerns: Excessively long hospital waiting lists for urgent and routine referrals, coupled with a lack of patient monitoring, risk significant deterioration and loss of treatment options.
Response (Department of Health and Social Care): The DHSC acknowledges the coroner's findings and states that NHS England is expanding elective care reform initiatives and introducing digital innovations to reduce patient wait times and improve diagnostic turnaround. …
Responded
Thomas Oldcorn
Concerns: Inadequate resources have led to significantly prolonged waiting times for cardiac surgery after angiography, consistently exceeding national targets and increasing to 17 days.
Response (Blackpool Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust): The Trust has implemented daily reviews of the waiting list by the consultant body, with a clinical overview captured on a RAG-rated system. They are developing an escalation policy to …
Responded
Michael Moore
Concerns: Persistent NHS capacity constraints are causing significant and increasing delays in cancer referrals, diagnosis, and treatment, risking patient outcomes.
Response (NHS England): NHS England describes actions agreed with the Urology department at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, including a capacity and demand review, review and validation of the Category P2 list, and …
Responded
Geoffrey Gudgeon
Concerns: There is a significant capacity issue in Cornwall concerning the timely admission and treatment of stroke patients, leading to delays in accessing stroke units.
Response (Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust): Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has improved stroke care by ringfencing stroke beds, increasing consultant availability in ED and Phoenix Ward, and reviewing data, leading to significant improvements in timely …
Response (Cornwall Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board): • The ICB is leading a system-wide programme of review and improvement in relation to stroke capacity and pathway provision. • This includes development of a unified integrated stroke pathway, …
Responded
Committee Recommendations (92) — showing 50 strongest matches
#10 —
Recommendation: The national health and care recovery plan must set out a clear vision for what ‘success’ in tackling the backlog will look like, and what patients can expect their care to look like in their local area in the coming …
Gov response: Accept in principle. NHS England is responsible for setting out a clear vision for what ‘success’ in tackling the elective backlog will look like, and what patients can expect their care to look like in …
Under Consideration
#20 —
Recommendation: We asked about very long-waiters in different areas and what action NHSE&I was taking to reduce them. It told us that all areas had had the same expectation placed upon them, to attempt to reduce the number of patients who …
Not Addressed
#18 —
Recommendation: In September 2021, patients in the worst-performing of NHSE&I’s 42 geographic areas of England were more than twice as likely as patients in the best-performing areas to have been waiting over 18 weeks for elective care. Patients were also more …
Not Addressed
#16 —
Recommendation: There are 6 million people on the waiting list for elective care.36 NHSE&I told us it intends to focus on those with the highest clinical need and priority, and especially in the immediate period, those who have waited the longest …
Not Addressed
#14 —
Recommendation: The Department and NHSE&I are now managing a large, growing and diverse set of challenges to elective and cancer care on top of the ongoing pandemic. We asked how the Department and NHSE&I expected the accelerated and expanded vaccine booster …
Not Addressed
#11 —
Recommendation: The very large numbers of people who have not presented for healthcare, or were not able to obtain it, during the pandemic, as well as those who have already been on waiting lists for long periods of time present a …
Not Addressed
#8 —
Recommendation: The C&AG’s Report included two plausible scenarios under which the waiting list will be even longer in 2025 than it was in 2021. One of these scenarios assumed that the NHS would achieve the 30% increase in activity that is …
Not Addressed
#1 —
Recommendation: On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department) and NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) about the backlogs and waiting times for elective …
Not Addressed
#6 —
Recommendation: For the next few years it is likely that waiting time performance for cancer and elective care will remain poor and the waiting list for elective care will continue to grow. The UK has low numbers of healthcare resources per …
Gov response: 6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2023 6.2 The government has been clear that the overall NHS waiting list is likely to worsen prior to improvements and service recovery. …
Accepted
#5 —
Recommendation: Waiting times for elective and cancer treatment are too dependent on where people live and there is no national plan to address this postcode lottery. In September 2021, patients in the worst-performing geographic areas were more than twice as likely …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. and the government has done extensive work to model a range of scenarios to better understand the levels of ‘bounce-back’ demand. Modelling estimates that there could be over …
Accepted
#11 —
Recommendation: Macmillan Cancer Support and Healthwatch Suffolk submitted evidence to us containing powerful examples of the uncertainty, anxiety and other problems long waits cause patients. Macmillan Cancer Support told us that the impact of cancer care backlogs was being felt by …
Gov response: 2.2 The department and NHS England have stepped up actions to tackle the backlog since the publication of the Delivery Plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care. The ambitions in the delivery plan …
Not Addressed
#10 —
Recommendation: We shared our concerns about the risks facing the NHS and its ability to deliver the recovery targets and we pressed NHSE on how confident it was that it would meet the target to increase elective activity to 129% of …
Gov response: 2.2 The department and NHS England have stepped up actions to tackle the backlog since the publication of the Delivery Plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care. The ambitions in the delivery plan …
Not Addressed
#25 — Prioritise longest elective surgery waiting lists and provide financial support for women's travel
Recommendation: Measures to reduce waiting lists for elective surgery should prioritise areas where waiting lists are longest and disparities greatest. The NHS should provide financial support to women to allow them to travel further to access care earlier.
Gov response: It is important that healthcare professionals receive the necessary training to provide the best care possible for women with reproductive health conditions. GMC is the regulator of all medical doctors practising in the UK. GMC …
Under Consideration
#1 — Northern Ireland's public services remain in crisis across health, education, and justice.
Recommendation: Northern Ireland’s public services remain in crisis. Its health service is under immense pressure, with long waiting lists, a struggling primary care sector and an acute mental health situation, in part due to Northern Ireland’s recent history. There are severe …
Gov response: We welcome your assessment on the state of public services, one year on from the previous Committee’s initial report, and recognise that improving public services will not be quick or easy. There are very real …
Not Addressed
#18 — Diagnostic capacity rapidly absorbed by demand, compounded by confusion over surgical hub delivery numbers.
Recommendation: NHSE told us that the additional diagnostic capacity it has created has been quickly taken up by growth in demand and that the NHS was also trying to control non-elective urgent demand.37 We were told however that while it was …
Under Consideration
#17 — Diagnostic and surgical hubs show activity below planned levels, failing waiting list targets.
Recommendation: The NAO report found that while CDCs are operational and have provided an increasing proportion of diagnostic activity, NHSE analysis in June 2024 showed that it would not meet waiting list targets due to a shortfall of around 3.6 million …
Gov response: 3.8 Data collections or processes for tracking costs and benefits for the national diagnostics programme have been in place since 2021 and continue to be used to demonstrate progress and value for money as the …
Accepted
#11 — Deprived communities and minority groups experience longer elective care waiting times
Recommendation: In July 2025 NHSE started publishing new data alongside the existing monthly Referral to Treatment Waiting Times data that showed that people from deprived communities and minority backgrounds are more likely to be waiting longer than 18 weeks for care …
Gov response: 1.7 The Elective Reform Plan (ERP) set out several commitments aimed at tackling health disparities in access to and waiting time for elective care, including the publication of waiting list information disaggregated by demographic information, …
Accepted
#10 — Long elective care waiting times pose serious risks to patient health and mortality
Recommendation: We received written evidence that long waiting times can put patients at risk. Evidence from Dr Rob Findlay noted that if it is not known what is wrong with undiagnosed patients then some of them will unexpectedly turn out to …
Gov response: 1.7 The Elective Reform Plan (ERP) set out several commitments aimed at tackling health disparities in access to and waiting time for elective care, including the publication of waiting list information disaggregated by demographic information, …
Accepted
#9 — Increased diagnostic capacity overwhelmed by surging demand, stalling waiting time progress
Recommendation: NHS England (NHSE) told us that the additional diagnostics capacity it had created had been quickly backfilled by growth in demand. Its progress on achieving the diagnostics recovery target remained stuck, with the number of patients waiting more than six …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. requested by the Committee, noting that the negotiations for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU, and timescales involved, will need to be integrated into development …
Accepted
#8 — NHS England consistently missed statutory and recovery elective care waiting targets
Recommendation: NHSE’s 2022 recovery plan ambition was to eliminate waits of longer than a year for elective care by March 2025. Within this, NHSE aimed that no one would wait longer than two years by July 2022, that there would be …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. vaccine availability outlines a strategic framework for cross-sector action. VMD is continuing cross-sector engagement to identify ways to improve supply and enable future innovation (involving government, pharmaceutical manufacturers, …
Accepted
#7 — Multiple factors contribute to rising elective care demand and capacity shortfalls
Recommendation: We also received written submissions from a range of individuals and organisations including clinicians and academics, royal colleges representing medical disciplines, care providers, think tanks and charitable organisations. A full list of the written evidence we received is available on …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. government response to the recent EFRA Select Committee report ‘Britain’s illegal meat crisis’. Biosecurity at the border: Britain's illegal meat crisis: Government Response The department has noted calls …
Accepted
#1 — Committee gathered evidence on NHS England's elective care waiting time programmes
Recommendation: On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Health and Social Care (the Department) and from NHS England (NHSE) regarding NHSE’s management of transformation programmes to reduce elective care …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The Elective Reform Plan (ERP) set out several commitments aimed at tackling health disparities in access to and waiting time for elective care, including the publication …
Accepted
#5 — Require the Department to set out new plans for securing clinical engagement on outpatient transformation.
Recommendation: NHS England’s performance to date has not demonstrated that it can secure the clinical engagement that will be necessary to transform waiting lists. Clinical engagement has worked best when there been close working between national and local clinical leaders, and …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. for successful outpatient transformation and has been the main challenge in previous transformation efforts. DHSC and NHS England are strengthening clinical engagement and ensuring clinicians are delivery partners …
Accepted
#4 — Require NHSE and Department to set out plans for elective care digital transformation and IT connectivity.
Recommendation: We are not confident that the Department is being realistic about the immense effort needed to reduce NHS elective care waiting times, and see a significant risk that digital solutions are being treated as a ‘cure- all’ as the 10 …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented The government is providing record investment in the health and social care system. The 10 Year Health Plan is affordable within the Department of Health and …
Accepted
#25 —
Recommendation: We recommend that NHS England, together with ICBs and the new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), work together to deliver regional and national coordination as the system tackles the backlog in elective care. If the independent sector is …
Gov response: The Elective Recovery Taskforce is working to ensure that innovative solutions to tackling the backlog are adopted across the country to ensure that access to care is not dependent on where you live. This includes …
Under Consideration
#23 —
Recommendation: Ahead of the arrival of the new funding from the Spending Review in Spring 2022, we recommend that Government provides more details on the 100 new community diagnostic hubs, including where they will be placed, who will staff them and …
Gov response: NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with systems to develop community diagnostic centres, with over 90 sites now open across the country. These centres are designed to provide a range of services based on …
Under Consideration
#1 —
Recommendation: Our key new recommendation is that, by April 2022, the Department of Health and Social Care works with NHS England to produce a broader national health and care recovery plan that goes beyond the elective backlog to emergency care, mental …
Gov response: Accept in principle. The Government recognises the importance of the NHS and the social care system working together to address the challenges they face. The Health and Care Act 2022 legislates to ensure effective partnership …
Under Consideration
#15 —
Recommendation: The number of missing referrals and the size of the waiting list make for a daunting situation when it comes to the needs of patients. Thinking about the recent changes to GPs’ workload to allow them to focus on booster …
Not Addressed
#4 —
Recommendation: It will be very challenging for the NHS to focus sufficiently on the needs of patients when it comes to dealing with backlogs, both patients already on waiting lists and those who have avoided seeking or been unable to obtain …
Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date Spring 2023 4.2 Delivery of the Elective Recovery Plan, and the initiatives deployed to achieve it, will be closely monitored by both the department …
Accepted
#3 —
Recommendation: The NHS will be less able to deal with backlogs if it does not address longstanding workforce issues and ensure the existing workforce, including in urgent and emergency care and general practice, is well supported. NHSE&I believes it will be …
Gov response: 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2023 3.2 Ensuring that the NHS has a workforce in the right numbers and with the right skills to deliver service commitments to …
Accepted
#2 —
Recommendation: At our evidence session the Department and NHSE&I appeared unwilling to make measurable commitments about what new funding for elective recovery would achieve in terms of additional NHS capacity and reduced patient waiting times. NHSE&I will receive an additional £8 …
Gov response: 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2023 2.2 The government published the Elective Recovery Plan which set out the goals for tackling the elective care and cancer backlogs over …
Accepted
#14 —
Recommendation: Based on these estimates the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England should set out: a) an estimate of what level of additional capacity in NHS cancer services will be needed to address the backlog in cancer services …
Gov response: Cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a top priority throughout the pandemic, and the vast majority of cancer services have been maintained thanks to the tireless work of NHS staff. There were over 4.9 million …
Under Consideration
#13 —
Recommendation: The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England must publish a detailed analysis of the extent of the cancer backlog to support the delivery of the elective care recovery plan. The Department should work with NHS England to …
Gov response: Cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a top priority throughout the pandemic, and the vast majority of cancer services have been maintained thanks to the tireless work of NHS staff. There were over 4.9 million …
Accepted
#17 —
Recommendation: Surgical hubs and community diagnostic centres have potential, but success will rely on them being adequately staffed. NHSE currently has limited evidence on hubs’ and CDC’s ability to continue operating when the wider NHS is under significant pressure.36 The Royal …
Gov response: 4.2 The actions in the NHS published Delivery Plan are targeted at increasing activity, managing demand or increasing productivity and NHS England carefully monitors progress against delivery targets at regular intervals. 4.3 The 2023-24 priorities …
Not Addressed
#16 —
Recommendation: We asked how confident NHSE was about the component programmes in its plan, particularly those aimed at increasing elective and diagnostic capacity. It told us that it did not have strong evidence for some of its programmes at present, but …
Gov response: 4.2 The actions in the NHS published Delivery Plan are targeted at increasing activity, managing demand or increasing productivity and NHS England carefully monitors progress against delivery targets at regular intervals. 4.3 The 2023-24 priorities …
Not Addressed
#15 —
Recommendation: NHSE’s elective recovery programme includes plans for: • GPs to handle many elective cases previously dealt with by hospital doctors. Instead of referring some patients for elective care, GPs manage them within the 24 C&AG’s Report, paras 7, 1.15; Autumn …
Gov response: 4.2 The actions in the NHS published Delivery Plan are targeted at increasing activity, managing demand or increasing productivity and NHS England carefully monitors progress against delivery targets at regular intervals. 4.3 The 2023-24 priorities …
Not Addressed
#13 —
Recommendation: We asked NHSE about whether, in its view, this would provide the NHS with sufficient funding, given its previous comments about the scale of the negative impact inflation had had on its budgets.26 The Chief Executive told us that it …
Gov response: 3.2 The government, as part of the Autumn Statement 2022, announced an additional £3.3billion for each of 2023-24 and 2024-25 to support the NHS in England. This additional funding will help the NHS to focus …
Not Addressed
#12 —
Recommendation: The Department has allocated £14 billion to NHS England from 2022–23 to 2024–25 specifically to recover elective and cancer care, comprising £8 billion of resource funding and £5.9 billion of capital funding, as described in the November 2021 Budget and …
Gov response: 3.2 The government, as part of the Autumn Statement 2022, announced an additional £3.3billion for each of 2023-24 and 2024-25 to support the NHS in England. This additional funding will help the NHS to focus …
Not Addressed
#7 —
Recommendation: In July 2022, the Chief Executive of the NHS, wrote to all Chief Executives of NHS trusts, NHS Foundation Trusts and Integrated Care Boards stating that the 62-day cancer backlog target should be a critical priority for the remainder of …
Gov response: 2. PAC conclusion: NHS England was over-optimistic about the circumstances in which the NHS would be trying to recover elective and cancer care. 2. PAC recommendation: NHS England and the Department of Health and Social …
Accepted
#1 —
Recommendation: On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department of Health (the Department) and NHS England (NHSE) about NHS backlogs and waiting times in England.1
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The Department of Health and Social Care (the department) and NHS England remain committed to reducing cancer waiting times. Since the publication of the Delivery Plan …
Accepted
#4 —
Recommendation: NHS England’s elective recovery programme partly relies on initiatives which have potential but for which there is so far limited evidence of effectiveness. NHSE has expanded some programmes because it believes them to be sufficiently promising, but there is currently …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The actions in the NHS published Delivery Plan are targeted at increasing activity, managing demand or increasing productivity and NHS England carefully monitors progress against delivery …
Accepted
#3 —
Recommendation: NHS funding has increased, but to deliver key priorities such as elective and cancer recovery it will need to be spent in the most cost-effective way. The Department has allocated £14 billion to NHSE from 2022–23 to 2024–25 specifically to …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The government, as part of the Autumn Statement 2022, announced an additional £3.3billion for each of 2023-24 and 2024-25 to support the NHS in England. This …
Accepted
#2 —
Recommendation: NHS England was over-optimistic about the circumstances in which the NHS would be trying to recover elective and cancer care. In our first report on NHS backlogs and waiting times in March 2022, we reported our concern that “officials are …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. since the publication of the Delivery Plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care. The ambitions in the delivery plan were agreed between NHS England and the …
Accepted
#24 —
Recommendation: Access to care should not be dependent on where you live in the country. Regional and national co-ordination will be necessary to ensure that strategies aimed at tackling the backlog do not have the unintended consequence of increasing health inequalities.
Gov response: The Elective Recovery Taskforce is working to ensure that innovative solutions to tackling the backlog are adopted across the country to ensure that access to care is not dependent on where you live. This includes …
Under Consideration
#22 —
Recommendation: We welcome the £2.3bn pledged in the Spending Review to create around 100 new community diagnostic hubs, but we are yet to see detailed plans for their implementation.
Gov response: Noted. We welcome the £2.3 billion pledged in the Spending Review to create around 100 new community diagnostic hubs, and detailed plans for their implementation will be set out in due course.
Under Consideration
#9 —
Recommendation: It is not acceptable for patients awaiting planned treatment or feeling the debilitating effects of long covid to feel “abandoned” by the NHS. We appreciate the uncertainty about the length of future waiting lists, but this is no excuse for …
Gov response: The Government agrees that communication with patients is essential. NHS England has been working to improve communication with patients waiting for treatment, and has published guidance for providers on how to do this effectively. This …
Under Consideration
#19 —
Recommendation: We asked NHSE&I to explain these disparities. It told us that the COVID-19 pandemic had had a differential effect across the country and that the differences reflected where the NHS had most diagnostic capacity and skilled workforce compared with where …
Not Addressed
#7 —
Recommendation: But plans are only one part of the explanation for deteriorating performance. This Committee’s June 2019 report NHS waiting times for elective and cancer treatment concluded that the Department had allowed NHS England to be selective about which standards it …
Gov response: 1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2023 1.2 The mandate to NHS England sets out the strategic goals that the government has set for NHS England in the year …
Not Addressed
#19 —
Recommendation: Major specialist cancer hospitals have better access to staff, expertise and technology, and patients referred to these sites are more likely to be offered potentially life- saving surgery. During the pandemic, these hospitals were the ones most likely to be …
Gov response: The Cancer Call for Evidence, launched in February to inform our 10-Year Cancer Plan, has now closed and responses are being analysed alongside wider evidence. The Plan will be a new vision for how we …
Under Consideration
#12 —
Recommendation: We recognise that the disruption to cancer services during the pandemic was primarily driven by the need to mitigate the risk posed by Covid-19 to patients undergoing cancer treatment. We also recognise the efforts made by the NHS to maintain …
Gov response: Cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a top priority throughout the pandemic, and the vast majority of cancer services have been maintained thanks to the tireless work of NHS staff. There were over 4.9 million …
Accepted
PHSO Casework Decisions (63)
P-001378 — Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Mr Y complains that he paid £10,000 for private bariatric surgery because Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust did not inform him it had recommenced non-urgent elective operations in June 2020 after the Covid-19 pause.
NHS in England
Apr 2022
P-001437 — Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mr A complains about the care and treatment he received from Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Between October 2019 and March 2020 he complains the Trust cancelled his discectomy surgery several times.
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Jun 2022
P-003118 — Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
Ms D complains about the wait time of over four years to get an appointment at the Tavistock and Portman Gender Identity Clinic.
NHS in England
Nov 2024
P-002331 — Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
Mrs C complains the Trust cancelled her hip replacement operation several times between May 2022 and March 2023.
NHS in England
Dec 2023
P-003384 — University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
Miss C complains that in December 2022 the Trust delayed treating her broken ankle causing her to have surgery that would otherwise have been unnecessary.
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Feb 2025
P-004711 — Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Mr A complains about the service he has received from the Trust to manage stage four arthritis in his hip. He says the Trust were delayed in providing injections, and has also delayed in arranging surgery for him by providing ineffective pain management.
NHS in England
Jan 2026
P-004691 — Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Mr A complains about the actions of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in relation to the handling of a subject access request and the management of his position on the waiting list for a knee replacement.
NHS in England
Jan 2026
P-004563 — Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mr N complains that in June 2024, the Trust should have added him to the radiofrequency denervation procedure waiting list, instead of requiring further diagnostic injections for treatment for back pain.
NHS in England
Jan 2026
P-001102 — Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Miss H complains about the delay in her father receiving radiotherapy treatment for his prostate cancer, and the subsequent decision to no longer offer him radiotherapy. She believes the shock of hearing this news led to his sudden death.
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Aug 2021
P-001205 — County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Mr E complained the Trust delayed the specialist review and his mother’s kidney stone extraction and stenting procedure. He also complained about his mother’s discharge from hospital and discharge from the Parkinson’s Disease Service.
NHS in England
Upheld
Nov 2021
P-001790 — Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
Mrs R complains about the care her sister received from the Trust. Mrs R is unhappy that the Trust downgraded her sister's treatment from urgent to routine.
NHS in England
Feb 2023
P-002314 — Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Mr O complains the Trust did not operate on his knee during July to November 2021 when his skin was clear and surgery could have gone ahead.
NHS in England
Nov 2023
P-002307 — Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Mrs A complains the Trust delayed fitting a pacemaker for her father in June 2021.
NHS in England
Nov 2023
P-002501 — Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Mr P complains on behalf of his partner, Mr E, about the Trust’s consistent delays in completing cardiac surgery from 2019 to March 2023, when it then decided Mr E was no longer suitable for the procedure.
NHS in England
Mar 2024
P-002571 — North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs O complains the Trust should have referred her for hip replacement surgery at her orthopaedic consultation in February 2022.
NHS in England
Apr 2024
P-002600 — Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
Mrs H complains that the Trust delayed her hip replacement surgery which left her in significant pain and meant she incurred costs for private surgery. She also complains the Trust would not provide her with pain relief.
NHS in England
May 2024
P-003693 — A practice in the South Gloucestershire area
Miss A complains the organisations did not act as they should have when she was trying to arrange a tonsillectomy. She said this left her no alternative other than to pay for the operation to be carried our privately.
NHS in England
Jul 2025
P-003724 — The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs K complains Rotherham delayed transferring her father, Mr D, to Sheffield so he could have a triple heart bypass and valve replacement operation between 12 July and 17 December 2022.
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Jul 2025
P-003949 — University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Ms W complains about the waiting time for an appointment at the Trust.
NHS in England
Sep 2025
P-004006 — University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs H complains about care provided by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). She complains following her bone cancer diagnosis in early 2024, the Trust delayed treatment for this until July 2024.
NHS in England
Sep 2025
P-004405 — Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Mrs O complains about delays in the Trust completing an MRI scan, reviewing the MRI scan, and treating her husband after he had a seizure in December 2020. Mrs O also complains about the lack of communication from the Trust.
NHS in England
Nov 2025
P-004384 — Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Miss A complains about the care and treatment provided to her by the Trust in 2022 and 2023. She complains the Trust dismissed symptoms of endometriosis and did not perform a laparoscopy within an acceptable timeframe.
NHS in England
Dec 2025
P-004397 — United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Ms R complains United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust did not see her soon enough after her GP referred her to its gastroenterology service in April 2022 for a large hiatus hernia.
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Dec 2025
P-004448 — A practice in the Gravesham area
Mrs L contacted us regarding her daughter's care and treatment by the Practice. Specifically, the Practice took two years to refer her to secondary care for medication. We found the Practice had adequately remedied the issue
NHS in England
Dec 2025
P-004416 — North Bristol NHS Trust
Mrs H complains the Trust lacked urgency between it receiving a referral for her son and completing a biopsy, which diagnosed his cancer in May 2023.
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Dec 2025
P-004590 — Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation …
Mrs Y complains the Trust included the personal data of other patients on her brother's discharge paperwork in April and July 2019. She also complains that between July and December 2019 his surgery was delayed, keyhole surgery failed, and the Trust failed to refer him onwards to a different Trust …
NHS in England
Jan 2026
P-004584 — Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Mrs E complains the Trust failed to operate on her colloid cyst. She also complains about the way the Trust handled her complaint.
NHS in England
Upheld
Jan 2026
P-001448 — Barts Health NHS Trust
Mrs C complains Barts Health NHS Trust (the Trust) failed to reschedule her shoulder operation after it was cancelled in April 2020 due to the pandemic. She also complains the Trust did not communicate with her about options for treatment, and did not inform her the orthopaedic services had moved …
NHS in England
Jul 2022
P-001486 — Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Mrs A complains about Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust decision not to provide surgical treatment.
NHS in England
Aug 2022
P-001831 — The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mr C complains the Trust delayed his spinal surgery twice and its communication was not good. He also complains about the Trust's complaint handling.
NHS in England
Nov 2022
P-001685 — South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mr U complains about the delay in referring his wife to a cancer trial taking place near to where she lived.
NHS in England
Nov 2022
P-001997 — University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs R complains a two-day delay caused her to have open appendicitis surgery rather than keyhole surgery. She also complains the delay was not written in her discharge report and about the Trust's complaint response.
NHS in England
May 2023
P-002052 — County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Mr I complains the Trust delayed his mother's hip surgery and this led to her unexpected death. He complains the family could not visit and were not with her when the risks of surgery were explained to her. He also complains he found out about his mother's death by text …
NHS in England
Jun 2023
P-002678 — A practice in the Norfolk area
Mrs U complains the Practice did not refer her to the fertility clinic when it said it would and only made the referral when she chased it nine months later.
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Jun 2024
P-002658 — A practice in the Manchester area
Miss L complains the Practice did not refer her for hair loss treatment between September 2023 and February 2024. She also complains it removed her from its patient list.
NHS in England
Jun 2024
P-002730 — Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs A complains that between September 2018 and July 2019 the Trust delayed completing a biopsy of her husband’s lung and this delayed his cancer diagnosis. She also complains that while he was in hospital, the Trust did not meet his pain management or nutrition needs.
NHS in England
Not Upheld
Jun 2024
P-002738 — East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
Ms S complains that from September 2019 the Trust failed to diagnose her hernia and it took until May 2022 when she had surgery abroad to fix it.
NHS in England
Upheld
Jun 2024
P-002810 — Barts Health NHS Trust
Mr R complains the Trust refused to fix a faulty pain device and kept cancelling surgery.
NHS in England
Jul 2024
P-002813 — A practice in the Sandwell area
Mrs A complains the Practice did not refer her to the orthopaedic service in September 2023. She also says when she complained on 9 April 2024, the Practice told her it would send her referral urgently, but it did not send it for another two weeks.
NHS in England
Jul 2024
P-003050 — Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Mr O complains Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust unreasonably delayed a sleep study for his son for four weeks between 2 February and 2 March 2023.
NHS in England
Oct 2024
P-003250 — NHS England
Miss O complains that NHS England failed to promptly allocate her son with a new orthodontist practice after his original stopped providing NHS treatment in May 2022.
NHS in England
Dec 2024
P-003334 — University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs A complains the Trust did not give her husband pain relief when he was in A&E for five hours and delayed his operation. She also complains there were not enough nurses on the ward and about the Trust’s communication.
NHS in England
Feb 2025
P-003345 — The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs A complains Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust delayed hip replacement surgery and unnecessarily carried out a procedure, between November 2023 and August 2024.
NHS in England
Feb 2025
P-003338 — Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs H complains there were large delays between her son’s ear, nose and throat (ENT) appointments and audiologist appointments. She says this delayed an ear condition being diagnosed and the Trust delayed making a referral to a specialist centre for treatment.
NHS in England
Feb 2025
P-003674 — Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Miss A complains about care provided to her mother. She complains it delayed doing a CT scan from 20 August to 12 September 2023.
NHS in England
Partly Upheld
Jul 2025
P-003772 — Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mr F complains about the Trust's delay in referring him to another hospital for his heart operation.
NHS in England
Aug 2025
P-004701 — An independent provider in the Chelmsford area
Mr R complains that G4S failed to chase up on the second part of a bilateral hernia surgery. He states he should have had the surgery as soon as the first operation had healed, but this was not followed up by G4S, and he also complains about the complaint handling.
NHS in England
Jan 2026
P-004675 — University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Mr G complains the Trust did not complete an urgent neurology assessment, as requested by a specialist neurologist at another Trust. He also complains about the Trust's complaint handling.
NHS in England
Upheld
Nov 2025
P-001814 — Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mr U complains the Trust cancelled his hernia operation on the day and did not tell him when it would be rescheduled for.
NHS in England
Feb 2023
P-001795 — East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Mr F complains the Trust delayed treating Mrs F's cancer.
NHS in England
Feb 2023
LGO / SPSO Decisions (193)
201201233 — Lanarkshire NHS Board
Mrs C was referred to a hospital gynaecology clinic with a vaginal prolapse (a condition when one or more of the pelvic organs slips down from its normal position). After she was first seen, she was given an ultrasound scan (a scan that uses sound waves to create images of …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Mar 2013
NIPSO-17834,21521 — Northern Health and Social Care TrustBelfast Health and …
We recommended that the Northern Health Trust apologise to a complainant after our investigation found failings in the care and treatment of her baby son and its handling of a Serious Adverse Incident (SAI) investigation.
NIPSO (NI Public Service…
Health & Social Care
Jan 2021
NIPSO-202001154 — Northern Health and Social Care Trust
A man claimed the Belfast Trust removed him from an in-patient waiting list because he had complained about one of its surgeons. Our investigation found no evidence to support this view.
NIPSO (NI Public Service…
Health & Social Care
Not Upheld
Feb 2024
PSOW-202201496 — Swansea Bay University Health Board
Mr D complained that he had waited a long time for orthopaedic surgery and that his understanding of how he would be treated was not managed well regarding the pre-operative assessments. The waiting time for orthopaedic surgery at the Health Board is more than 4 years. The Health Board had …
PSOW (Public Services Om…
Health
Jan 2024
PSOW-202200425 — Swansea Bay University Health Board
Mrs C complained on behalf of her husband Mr C, that he had waited a long time for orthopaedic surgery and that their understanding of how he would be treated was not managed well regarding the pre-operative assessments. The waiting time for orthopaedic surgery at the Health Board is more …
PSOW (Public Services Om…
Health
Jan 2024
PSOW-202200361 — Swansea Bay University Health Board
Mrs B said that she had waited a long time for orthopaedic surgery and that her understanding of how she would be treated was not managed well regarding the pre-operative assessments. The waiting time for orthopaedic surgery at the Health Board is more than 4 years. The Health Board had …
PSOW (Public Services Om…
Health
Jan 2024
PSOW-202207270 — Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Mrs B complained about her husband, Mr B’s, care and treatment by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (“the Health Board”). Mr B went to the Emergency Department (“the ED”) at Wrexham Maelor Hospital in April 2022 with urinary retention. My investigation considered whether his symptoms should have led to an …
PSOW (Public Services Om…
Health
Jul 2024
PSOW-202504991 — Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Ms A complained that the Health Board failed to adhere to the Urgent Suspected Cancer pathway and denied that she was on this pathway. At assessment, it was found that the Health Board failed to apologise to Miss A for misinforming her of the nature of her referral to Gynaecology. …
PSOW (Public Services Om…
Health
Nov 2025
201004712 — Highland NHS Board
In early 2011, Mr C complained to the board about the length of time he was told he would have to wait on the waiting list for a psychological assessment. He had already been on the waiting list for over nine months and was told it would be another eight …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Oct 2011
201101077 — Lothian NHS Board
Mr C first visited his GP in September 2009 with pain and swelling in his testicles and was referred to the urology team at the Western General Hospital. He was placed on a waiting list for treatment. He was seen in January 2010 by two specialists who could not agree …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Jan 2012
201100716 — Lothian NHS Board
Mr C complained about the treatment he received from the board for two hernias. He said that a surgeon failed to correctly interpret his scan results, as he failed to identify one of the hernias. However, we found that the surgeon had interpreted the scan correctly and had identified the …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Jan 2012
201102499 — Lothian NHS Board
Mrs C had worsening hearing loss in both ears, with narrow ear canals that made use of in-ear hearing aids painful and intolerable. She complained that the board failed to refer her to the correct consultant at the right time, and that there was an unreasonable delay of a year …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Oct 2012
201202345 — Lothian NHS Board
Mrs C complained that she experienced an unreasonable delay in receiving appointment notification letters from the board. After she was referred to a respiratory clinic by her GP, the board wrote inviting her to an appointment at the clinic. Mrs C did not receive this letter until after the time …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
May 2013
201204300 — Lothian NHS Board
Ms C's dentist referred her to the board's dental institute for treatment to remove the roots of a broken wisdom tooth. Ms C complained that there was unacceptable delay in providing an appointment at the institute; and that the lack of communication about the waiting time was unreasonable. After investigating, …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Not Upheld
Jun 2013
201303020 — Tayside NHS Board
Shortly after being placed on the waiting list for a day surgery procedure in hospital, Mr C had a phone call offering him an appointment for the following week. He did not receive the pre-operative information leaflet in the post until two days after the surgery. On the day of …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Apr 2014
201400591 — Lanarkshire NHS Board
Ms C complained that after her GP referred her to orthopaedics (the specialty for conditions of the musculoskeletal system) at Wishaw General Hospital, she was inappropriately allocated to podiatry (specialising in disorders of the foot, ankle and lower limb). She had previously attended private podiatry appointments with no improvement to …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Not Upheld
Aug 2014
201305717 — Grampian NHS Board
Mrs C complained on behalf of her sister-in-law (Mrs A) that the board cancelled Mrs A's facial reconstruction surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and did not provide a reasonable explanation for this. From what Mrs C described, this was clearly an upsetting experience for Mrs A. We looked at information …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Not Upheld
Sep 2014
201303993 — Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board
Mr C had suffered prostate problems since his forties and his prostate health was regularly monitored. Until 2011, the tests had shown that although his prostate was enlarged, he was not suffering from cancer. Early in 2011, Mr C's blood test results began to indicate that he might have prostate …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Nov 2014
201303988 — Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board
Mr C complained that he waited too long to see a prison dentist after a crown fell out. He said that he had twice asked to see the dentist and had explained that he was suffering some pain. In response to Mr C's complaint, the board said that they did …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Nov 2014
201303371 — A Medical Practice in the Greater Glasgow and …
Mr C complained on behalf of his father (Mr A) who lives in a care home. Mr C was unhappy that Mr A's GP did not visit his father there, but instead spoke to care home staff by phone. He was also unhappy with the GP's responses to his complaint …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Nov 2014
201303182 — Western Isles NHS Board
Mr C, who is a solicitor, brought a complaint on behalf of his client (Mrs A) about the service she received after her GP referred her to a psychiatric department. Mrs A complained that the board failed to meet their targets and that her treatment did not meet any reasonable …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Not Upheld
Nov 2014
201500357 — Tayside NHS Board
Miss C raised a number of issues about the time taken by the health board to arrange her appointment for day surgery and that, when it eventually took place, it was outwith the timescales for the Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG) of 12 weeks. Miss C also mentioned that she had …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Sep 2015
201405122 — Lanarkshire NHS Board
Mrs C complained about a delay in providing treatment in the ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinic at Wishaw General Hospital. Her GP referred her with a suspected acoustic neuroma (a benign tumour on one of the nerves connecting the inner ear to the brain) and she was frustrated at …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Dec 2015
201502592 — Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board
Ms C complained about a delay in arranging surgery for her child (Miss A), who suffered from malocclusion (a misalignment of the teeth and jaws) and chronic facial pain. A treatment plan was agreed for Miss A's malocclusion, including a period of braces followed by maxillofacial surgery (surgery affecting the …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
May 2016
201502517 — A Medical Practice in the Highland NHS Board …
Mrs C complained that the practice cancelled an important appointment with the practice nurse without giving her notice. Mrs C moved to a different practice, and she complained there was delay in sending her medical records to the new practice. We found that the practice could have told Mrs C …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
May 2016
201501942 — Lothian NHS Board
Mr C complained about the length of time he had to wait for surgery for prostate cancer and said that the board did not provide treatment in line with the national waiting time targets. We took independent advice from a medical adviser. We found that the GP referral for Mr …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
May 2016
201501397 — Lothian NHS Board
Mr C complained on behalf of his partner (Miss A) about the delay in her parathyroid surgery (surgery to remove glands next to the thyroid which secrete a hormone that regulates calcium levels in a person's body), and the board's communication with them about this. Mr C said the consultant …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
May 2016
201507972 — Highland NHS Board
Mr C complained about the time he had to wait for a gastroscopy procedure (a procedure where a thin, flexible telescope called an endoscope is used to look inside the gullet and stomach) at Raigmore Hospital. Mr C was referred for the procedure by his GP after he complained of …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Jul 2016
201507774 — Lanarkshire NHS Board
Mr C complained about a delay in being referred for psychology treatment. He was referred to the community mental health team and was seen initially by a consultant psychiatrist and a community psychiatric nurse (CPN). He continued to see the CPN over the following months but it was deemed that …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Jul 2016
201508812 — Western Isles NHS Board
Mr C complained about the care his late wife (Mrs A), who suffered from diabetes, received from the board. In particular he complained that when a home visit was made by a district nurse, his wife's podiatry appointment was not brought forward by the board. During our investigation we took …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
May 2017
201508596 — Tayside NHS Board
Mr C complained about delays and communication in relation to his wife (Mrs A)'s hip-replacement surgery at Ninewells Hospital. After taking independent advice from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, we did not uphold Mr C's complaints. The advice we received was that while Mrs A's patient journey had been a long …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Not Upheld
May 2017
201608063 — Golden Jubilee National Hospital
Mr C complained about the care and treatment provided to his late wife (Mrs A) at Golden Jubilee National Hospital. Mrs A had been diagnosed with bladder cancer by another health board, but before being able to receive treatment for the cancer had suffered a heart attack. She was referred …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Sep 2017
201607116 — Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board - Acute …
Mr C complained that after being put on the waiting list for a transurethral resection of the prostate (surgery used to treat urinary problems caused by an enlarged prostate), he was not given an appointment within the 12 week treatment time guarantee timescale, and that he was not updated about …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Sep 2017
201608877 — Fife NHS Board
Mr C complained about the length of time it had taken the board to provide him with treatment for varicose veins. Mr C was referred to vascular surgery at Victoria Hospital by his GP. Around four months later he saw a vascular consultant who said that he needed a special …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Feb 2018
201700482 — Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board - Acute …
Mr C complained that the board failed to provide him with clinic appointments within a reasonable timescale. He also raised concern that the board failed to provide him with adequate notice of the cancellation and rescheduling of appointments, and he was unhappy with the board's handling of his complaint. The …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Apr 2018
201609412 — Lanarkshire NHS Board
Mrs C, who is an advocacy and support worker, complained on behalf of her client (Mrs A). Mrs A was unhappy about delays in getting confirmation of an appointment with a consultant ophthalmologist (a doctor who deals with injuries and conditions in and around the eye). Mrs A was also …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Apr 2018
201708551 — Tayside NHS Board
Mrs C was referred by her GP to the orthopaedic department (the area of medicine which deals with the musculoskeletal system) at Ninewells Hospital for consideration of knee replacement surgery. However, there were problems with the communications from the board which resulted in her missing a scheduled out-patient clinic appointment. …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Not Upheld
Sep 2018
201700671 — Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board
Mr C attended University Hospital Crosshouse after sustaining a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament (a ligament in the knee) and damaged cartilage (connective tissue). Mr C complained that the board took too long to provide appropriate treatment following a referral from his GP, failed to provide a reasonable standard …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Oct 2018
201705257 — Tayside NHS Board
Mrs C complained about the care and treatment she received from Ninewells Hospital regarding a delay in physiotherapy and the board's handling of her complaint concerning the matter. We took independent advice from a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist (a doctor who specialises in childbirth and the female reproductive system). We …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Nov 2018
201804379 — Tayside NHS Board
Ms C complained that Ninewells Hospital failed to provide her with reasonable care and treatment when she was admitted for investigations by the gastroenterology (branch of medicine which deals with disorders of the stomach and intestines) team. We took independent advice from a consultant gastroenterologist. We found that the treatment …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Nov 2019
201900596 — Grampian NHS Board
Ms C complained that the board delayed in arranging the surgery she needed. She was entered onto the list for surgery at a gynaecology (medicine of the female genital tract and its disorders) out-patient clinic, but said that she was told months later that they were only carrying out surgery …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Jul 2020
201810152 — Tayside NHS Board
C was referred to the board's urology service (specialists in the male and female urinary tract, and the male reproductive organs) via an urgent referral due to suspected cancer. C was diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma (a type of cancer that typically occurs in the urinary system). C underwent laparoscopic …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Mar 2021
201908887 — Highland NHS Board
C complained on behalf of their child (A) who has a background of low mood and anxiety. C complained about the assessments of A by two paediatric consultants. C also complained that the Child Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) unreasonably rejected referrals from A’s GP due to social work’s involvement …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Nov 2021
201810251 — Highland NHS Board
C complained that the board failed to provide their child (A) with orthognathic treatment (orthognathics is a specialist subset of dentistry which involves surgical correction of growth issues with the jaw and lower face) within a reasonable timescale. A's teeth were overcrowded to the extent that they caused pain in …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Dec 2021
201907379 — Lothian NHS Board - Acute Division
C complained about delays in treatment that was meant to be provided to their late spouse (A). They told us that A had been referred to the board from another area for heart surgery, but that this took so long to arrange, A's condition deteriorated to a point that surgery …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Not Upheld
May 2022
202004806 — Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board - Acute …
C complained about their waiting time for hip replacement surgery. C was initially added onto the waiting list for surgery but was later removed after C advised the board of their personal circumstances. A couple of months later, C was added back onto the waiting list for surgery but, after …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Jul 2022
202009234 — Fife NHS Board
C complained to the board on behalf of their partner (A) about the length of time taken to arrange a lumbar puncture test (LP, a procedure used to collect a sample of fluid from the spine) following assessment by a neurologist (specialist of the nerves and the nervous system). C …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Dec 2022
202302835 — Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board - Acute …
C complained about the care and treatment received by their young child (A). A had a complex congenital (from birth) heart condition. C complained to the board after A received heart surgery, which had been part of the treatment planned for A. C complained that the board did not reasonably …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Dec 2024
202303181 — Forth Valley NHS Board
C complained about delays in the care and treatment provided to their spouse (A) who was diagnosed with lung cancer following an abnormal chest X-ray. C said that there was a delay in A being provided with a CT scan result by the respiratory consultant, and a further wait to …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Jan 2025
202311619 — Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board - Acute …
C complained about the lack of care and treatment that the board provided in relation to not being recalled for a colonoscopy. C had undergone regular colonoscopies to monitor disease progression. C was not recalled when the next colonoscopy was due. The COVID-19 pandemic led to suspension of services with …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Aug 2025