The health trust which runs Whipps Cross University Hospital received the most complaints about services last year, it has emerged.

Barts Health is the largest health trust in the country and runs six hospitals in east London.

A report by the Health and Social Care Information Centre found the trust received 1,994 written complaints in the 12 months up to March this year.

Next on the list was University Hospitals Of Leicester NHS Trust, which received 1,527 complaints during the same period.

The report does not provide a breakdown of which hospitals or services were criticised and how many complaints were upheld.

A recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission found systemic failings in elderly care and maternity services at Whipps Cross.

And three Whipps Cross carers were recently convicted of the criminal neglect of elderly patients.

Barts Health has apologised for the failings and said standards have been improved.

A spokeswoman added: “The number of complaints an organisation receives does not directly correlate with the quality of its care because of the many other factors that need to be taken into account, including the size of the organisation and the complexity of the cases it treats.

“Barts Health is the largest Trust in the NHS, providing healthcare to 2.5 million patients across east London and beyond.

“We pride ourselves on the quality of our clinical services and we are in the top ten hospital trusts in the NHS for patient safety.”