Investigation reports

A man claimed that prison authorities unfairly denied him treatment for his opioid addiction.  We did not uphold the complaint but made observations on the case for the Trust to consider going forward.

A man’s cancer treatment was interrupted by the Covid pandemic in March 2020. We found that he should have been reviewed by clinicians as soon as possible after the resumption of face-to-face appointments. 

A woman claimed that her daughter’s development was held back by the South Eastern Trust. We upheld parts of the complaint, finding that the Trust's failings led to a loss of opportunity for the child and caused her mother upset and distress. 

A man asked the South Eastern Trust to check whether his mother was entitled to help with her care home fees. 

We found the Trust failed to properly deal with the request and asked it to re-assess her primary care needs when revised guidance becomes available.

A complainant said that if the South Eastern Health Trust had carried out a proper healthcare assessment it might have been responsible for paying her mother’s nursing home fees . 

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 safeguarding referrals.

A patient complained that if a cyst had been diagnosed earlier she could have avoided a painful procedure to have it drained.     

A parent who acted as a carer for her son with special needs complained that a six-month delay in her family being allocated a social worker impacted her financially and mentally.

We upheld the complaint but found no evidence of bias against the parent by the Trust. 

The Lagan Valley Hospital carried out reasonable and appropriate investigations to determine the source of a patient’s abdominal pain.

A woman whose autistic daughter needed constant care and attention complained that the lack of a dedicated social worker left her feeling ‘isolated and let down’. We upheld the complaint, but recognised the difficult position faced by the health trust over a prolonged period which contributed to the failures.