Ombudsman upholds eight in 10 complaints about the NHS

Croydon Health Services NHS Trust was asked by the parliamentary and health services ombudsman to pay £75 000 (€85 000; $120 000) to a woman whose leg was amputated because of failings in her care, the ombudsman’s latest annual report shows.

The award, unusually high for an ombudsman’s recommendation, is nearly 10% of the total £780 201.72 recommended to be paid out in 2010-11 by the current ombudsman, Ann Abraham, who oversees complaints against government bodies and the NHS in England.

In her last annual report before she retires, Ms Abraham highlights her report Care and Compassion?, published in February, which told the stories of 10 people aged over 65 for whom the NHS …