The ratio of clinical procedures to investigations at the health trust serving Redbridge is one of the highest in the country.

There were a total of 771 complaints made about treatment at King George Hospital in Goodmayes and Queens Hospital in Romford last year.

Figures released by the health service ombudsman, Julie Mellor, reveal 119 of the complaints about Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Trust (BHRUT) were referred to her.

A total of 25 investigations were launched as a result of these referrals, seven of which resulted in a compensation settlement.

With 257,688 treatments carried out at the hospitals last year, the ratio of investigations to clinical procedures is one of the highest in the country.

The trust, which is currently in special measures following concerns over the quality of care and patient safety, insists the number of complaints made is in line with trusts of a similar size.

BHRUT is also about £40million in debt.

The ombudsman last month revealed the trust was guilty of a catalogue of errors in care provided to a patient who died following a liver biopsy at King George Hospital in 2010.

The investigation found that the unnamed patient died as a result of internal bleeding two days after undergoing the procedure, with failures in care resulting in £500 compensation to the victim’s family.

BHRUT chief nurse, Flo Panel-Coates, said: “The number of complaints we receive is in proportion to the size of the organisation and the number of patients we treat.

“As one of the busiest trusts in the country, we are pleased that we receive fewer complaints than many other hospitals.

“However, providing our patients with the quality care and experience they deserve is our main priority.

“We have been working to improve the quality of our responses.

“If mistakes have been made, we now make clear what actions we will be putting in place to ensure that a similar situation does not arise again.”

One of the country’s largest health trusts, Barts Health, which runs Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, is also in around £40m debt.

During the same period, the treatment it provided at one of its hospitals was investigated on 43 occasions by the ombudsman, with 12 resulting in compensation.

However, it carried out 579,271 procedures.

The report states that countrywide, three out of ten complaints are due to poor communication, two in ten are due to poor staff attitude and 14 per cent are down to inadequate apologies.