Western Health and Social Care Trust
A woman complained about the treatment her father received in Altnagelvin Hospital, including that he should not have had a catheter inserted while he was dying. We upheld parts of the complaint.
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
GP
We investigated whether an increase in a man’s prescription caused him to attend hospital the following day. We found the Practice’s increase in the dose fell within the prescribed limits.
GP
A patient in a medical practice complained that her eye infection should have been examined by a GP rather than a nurse. We found that the examination was appropriate, but that a GP should have seen the patient following her request.
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
We asked Mid and East Antrim Council to apologise to a man for failures in the way it dealt with a planning application.
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council failed to fully record the reasons why it approved a planning application for a domestic garage. However, we found it would not have reached a different decision had the failings not occurred.
Northern Health and Social Care Trust
We upheld a woman's complaint about the care given to her father, who passed away in Antrim Area Hospital in 2021.
Northern Health and Social Care Trust
A man who suffered a back injury at work was treated appropriately by clinicians in the Northern Trust. However, we found that when the man made a complaint about his treatment, the Northern Trust did not answer all of his questions.
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.
Northern Health and Social Care Trust
The son of a care home resident raised concerns about his father’s treatment in the home. We found that the Trust followed the correct Adult Safeguarding guidelines while looking after him.
Northern Health and Social Care Trust
A Health Trust’s decision to admit a woman to a care home was appropriate, but its communication with her carer fell below the expected standards.
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
A woman complained that hospital delays contributed to her mother’s early death. We found a number of failings in her care and treatment.
Northern Health and Social Care Trust
A woman complained about a Trust’s decision not to allow her son to be his brother’s paid carer. We found that social workers provided the family with appropriate support, but asked the Trust to re-examine its decision as we could not be sure it had …
Northern Health and Social Care Trust
We asked the Northern Trust to make sure patients who have difficulties relaying their medical histories are accompanied when they are assessed in hospital Emergency Departments.
Belfast City Council
A man claimed Belfast City Council should have asked his neighbour to remove a structure on his driveway. Although the Council was not required to take action, we found it should have explained to the man why.
Southern Health and Social Care Trust
A woman complained about the Southern Trust’s decision to make her late sister’s estate liable for unpaid nursing costs.
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
We investigated concerns about how a Health Trust dealt with allegations of an intimate relationship between two care home residents. Our report criticised the Trust for not doing a more thorough investigation into the claims, and asked it to carry out an audit of previous …
Western Health and Social Care Trust
A teenage boy waited 18 months to see a consultant after he was diagnosed with arthritis and ruptured ligaments. We asked the Trust to apologise for the failures which caused the delay.
Western Health and Social Care Trust
The Western Health Trust should have done more to ease a patient's discomfort during an endoscopy procedure. We asked it to apologise, and to remind clinical staff of the importance of following guidelines on pain management, obtaining consent, and on communicating with patients and their …
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
A woman complained about the care her elderly mother received over a 10 day period in the Mater Hospital. We upheld parts of the complaint, including over how the hospital dealt with an incident in which the patient was in an agitated state, and the …
Western Health and Social Care Trust
A woman complained that her daughter, who had autism, anxiety and depression, was not cared for properly during her 7 months stay in a children’s home.
Western Health and Social Care Trust
A care home resident complained that the home she was in was not suitable for her needs. We noted the Western Trust's efforts to find the woman a more appropriate home, and recommended it continue its search for alternative options.
Department for Communities
An architect complained that he was unfairly removed from a project to restore a historic monument.
GP
A woman said that her GP should have diagnosed her daughter's tonsilitis and given her an antibiotic. We found that the Practice treated the infection appropriately.
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
The quality of care given to a young person with complex medical needs deteriorated when she turned 18. We criticised the Belfast Trust for not doing enough to prepare for her transition to adult care, noting with concern the lack of overall policies for managing …
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
We found that a woman was cared for appropriately in the Maternity Unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital, but said that clinicians should have recorded the discussions they had with her about the progress of her labour.