Department for Economy
A complainant believed her business should have received financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic. We asked the Department for the Economy to retrospectively accept and consider her application.
Source · Ombudsman decisions
NIPSO Individual Decisions
457 total decisions
192 investigated
139 upheld
72% upheld of investigated
Years: Jul 2000–Mar 2026
457 published decisions from the NI Public Services Ombudsman. The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman investigates complaints about NI government departments, agencies, councils, and public bodies. Source: nipso.org.uk.
Decisions
Northern Health and Social Care Trust
We upheld a number of complaints against the Northern Health Trust, including that hospital staff did not give an elderly patient enough fluids, nor appropriately monitor her over a 24-hour period.
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
A man sought assurance that his wife had been cared for appropriately in hospital. We partially upheld the complaint.
Department for Economy
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
The Ombudsman has found that Belfast Health and Social Care Trust should have communicated more clearly with a patient’s family before she was discharged from hospital into respite care.
Comber Care Home
We upheld a complaint about the way in which a resident was fed by care home staff, causing her to choke and vomit.
Choice Housing Association
We asked Choice Housing Association to review its Anti-Social Behaviour procedures, and to ensure its staff are aware of the importance of record keeping when conducting investigations into Anti-Social Behaviour.
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
We upheld a complaint from a woman who failed to get an epidural in the Ulster Hospital before she gave birth.
Western Health and Social Care Trust
We asked the Western Health Trust to reflect on what it might have done differently in the treatment of an elderly patient in Altnagelvin Hospital.
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
A woman complained that her late father was “left to suffer” in pain at the Ulster Hospital. We found no failures in his care and treatment, but said that the Trust’s communication with the woman during her father's final days could have been clearer.
Queen's University Belfast
A student complained to Queen’s University about bullying and harassment by other residents in her University accommodation. We asked the University to apologise to the student for failures in the way it dealt with her complaint.
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
A check by the Belfast Trust to see whether a nursing home resident was entitled to continuing healthcare was incorrect. We asked it to carry out a new assessment.
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
The Ombudsman has partially upheld a complaint about the care and treatment of man while he was an in-patient in the Lagan Valley Hospital in 2017.
Western Health and Social Care Trust
An investigation into complaints about the end of life care received by a man in the South West Acute Hospital has found that he was treated appropriately by medical staff.
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
We investigated an incident in which a woman suffered a fractured vertebrae after a fall in hospital. We found that the Belfast Trust failed to prepare a proper falls assessment for the patient, and failed to fully investigate how the fall happened.
GP
A woman questioned whether a GP Practice missed opportunities to pick up on identify her late mother’s blocked intestine. We found no evidence of failures by the Practice.
Southern Health and Social Care Trust
A woman who feared she had cancer complained that the Southern Health Trust should have operated to remove her womb. Our investigation found no failures by the Trust.
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
A woman complained about the treatment given to her late mother in the Royal Victoria Hospital. We found the patient’s care was largely appropriate, but asked the Trust to apologise to her daughter for the insufficient pain relief given to her mother over a 2 …
Dental Practice
A woman complained that a dental practice should have provided her with a filling rather than giving root canal treatment. We did not uphold the complaint.
Western Health and Social Care Trust
We found that a patient who was showing signs of sepsis should have been referred to a senior clinician in Altnagelvin Hospital. We asked for the Trust to apologise to the complainant, and that it raises awareness of sepsis among junior doctors.
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
The sister of a man with Downs Syndrome has received an apology from the Belfast Trust following our investigation into his treatment in Belfast City Hospital.
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
A woman complained about the treatment her late mother received in hospital. We found a number of failures by the South Eastern Health Trust, including that the patient did not receive the right medication following a stroke.
Dental Practice
We concluded that a dental practice’s refusal to remove a patient’s tooth when she requested it was not a failure, but criticised the practice for the quality of some its dental records.
Western Health and Social Care Trust
We found that although a cancer patient’s treatment plan was in line with relevant standards, the Altnagelvin Hospital failed to keep proper records relating to her care, including losing a number of key medical documents. We also asked it to apologise to the patient’s daughter …