An NHS watchdog has been accused of failing thousands of patients and bereaved relatives after admitting it fully investigated less than 400 of 16,000 patient complaints made last year.

The figures emerged as a leaked report, seen by The Telegraph, discloses a litany of errors investigating a death at the heart of the Morecambe Bay hospital scandal, where up to 16 babies died amid poor care.

Last night bereaved parents said the Health Service Ombudsman – the body with ultimate responsibility for complaints against the NHS – was “a disaster for patients” while health experts said the organisation was “virtually ignoring” the desperate pleas of families seeking explanations for poor care.

Reported by the Telegraph. You can read the full story here. 

I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.