“Investigations weren't carried out when they should have been and when they were carried out they did not find out or explain why failings happened,” Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor was quoted as saying in the statement.
Of the 150 reviewed cases about allegations of avoidable harm or avoidable death, the NHS failed in handling up to 61 cases. The ombudsman further found that 28 of the cases should have been investigated as serious incidents which could have been life-threatening or caused serious disruption to services. But of these 28, the NHS failed in handling 71 percent of the cases.
According to the statement, the NHS not only failed to handle variation in the quality of its investigations, but failed to recognize when an investigation needed to be initiated.
In one case, the ombudsman said the mishandling in the delivery of a baby was only acknowledged by an NHS trust after the baby's parents paid 250 pounds (about $380) for an independent clinical review.
In another case, a 36-year-old man died after the Accident and Emergency doctors failed to diagnose a life-threatening condition. According to the statement, the man had an 80 percent chance of surviving with the right surgery.
The Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman Service investigates public complaints pertaining to unfair or poor treatment of individuals by the NHS, government departments and other public organizations.
