NHS ombudsman accused of being 'defensive' by MPs

The NHS ombudsman has been "defensive" and caused "pain" by its reluctance to admit mistakes when investigating patients' complaints, a report by the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) has found.

The report adds that "serious questions" have been raised about the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) which has caused "considerable anguish" when it has failed to uncover the truth, it said.

MPs now want a new independent body to investigate clinical failures before they reach the ombudsman to "transform the safety culture of the NHS".

Current systems are "complicated, take far too long and are preoccupied with blame or avoiding financial liability", the committee warned.

The PASC said patients and NHS staff deserved to have clinical incidents "investigated immediately" at a local level to establish facts and evidence, "without the need to find blame, and regardless of whether a complaint has been raised".

There also needs to be a "clear, effective central system" for disseminating lessons learned from local incidents across the national NHS, it added.

A spokeswoman for the PHSO said: "We will carefully study this report which raises important issues about the investigation of clinical incidents for the health system, as well as about our service."