A LOCAL health trust has been named in a list of the ten most complained about trusts in the country.

The Health Service Ombudsman received 100 patient complaints about the Barking Havering and Redbridge University Trust in 2010/11, making it the eighth most complained about trust in the country.

While only five of those complaints were investigated and reported on by the ombudsman, in all five cases the complaints were upheld.

In 2010/11 the Ombudsman received over 15,000 complaints but only 349 resulted in investigation.

Many complaints received by the health ombudsman were caused by minor disputes including mix-ups over appointment times and unanswered telephones.

Health Service Ombudsman, Ann Masters, described progress within the NHS on dealing with complaints as ‘patchy and slow.’

And she added: “At a local level, the NHS is still not dealing adequately with the most straightforward matters.”

BHRT has also been the subject of an investigation by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after the deaths of five women who had given birth at Queen’s Hospital in Romford in the last two years.

Speaking after the publication of the Health Service Ombudsman's report, a spokesperson for the Trust said: “As one of the busiest Trusts in the country we would expect to get a number of complaints in direct proportion to the very high number of patients we treat.

“However, we do take this issue very seriously and have been working hard to try and reduce the number of complaints by dealing with any concerns as soon as they arise.

"This can stop a concern escalating into a complaint, and means that patients have a better experience while they are in our hospitals.

“We have also redesigned our complaints service to speed up responses.”

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