Source · Ombudsman casework
PHSO Casework Decisions
4,026 published decisions
3,412 Health (NHS)
614 Parliamentary
18% upheld or partly upheld
Range: Apr 2021–Jun 2026
Published casework decisions from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. PHSO selects a subset of completed investigations for publication — these 4,026 decisions represent approximately 1.3% of the 319,000 total complaints received across the same period. Source: decisions.ombudsman.org.uk.
Top themes by upheld rate
| Theme | Decisions | Upheld | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delayed Recognition of Deterioration | 746 | 184 | 25% |
| Complaint record keeping failures | 631 | 107 | 17% |
| Clinical negligence harms learning | 459 | 92 | 20% |
| Care plan failures | 436 | 121 | 28% |
| Care and discharge planning | 288 | 77 | 27% |
| No person-centred care | 215 | 46 | 21% |
| Inaccurate and inaccessible patient records | 203 | 37 | 18% |
| Patient dignity and privacy | 147 | 40 | 27% |
| Inadequate Pre-Operative Risk Assessment | 136 | 44 | 32% |
| Duty of Candour implementation | 134 | 43 | 32% |
| Medication Contamination/Misadministration | 128 | 33 | 26% |
| DWP policy impact assessment | 106 | 12 | 11% |
| Poor health and social care integration | 97 | 21 | 22% |
| Mental Health Crisis Referral Delays | 74 | 10 | 14% |
| Coroner family information gaps | 74 | 25 | 34% |
PHSO complaint categories
| Category | Decisions | Upheld | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment | 1,750 | 462 | 26% |
| Diagnosis | 949 | 225 | 24% |
| Communication | 880 | 242 | 28% |
| Complaint handling | 596 | 169 | 28% |
| Drugs / medication | 541 | 146 | 27% |
| Nursing care | 436 | 164 | 38% |
| Access | 400 | 91 | 23% |
| Transfer, discharge and aftercare | 398 | 133 | 33% |
| Referral | 306 | 67 | 22% |
| Administration | 214 | 31 | 14% |
| Choice and Consent | 193 | 52 | 27% |
| Continuing healthcare | 188 | 15 | 8% |
| End of life care | 184 | 52 | 28% |
| Surgery | 172 | 39 | 23% |
| Record keeping and management | 151 | 31 | 21% |