Powys Teaching Health Board showed a "lack of respect and courtesy" after a daughter was left waiting for more than 13 months for a response to a complaint about her mother's treatment.

A special report by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales revealed that despite having agreed to issue an apology and a complaint response, the health board failed to fulfil its promise to the patient's family, even after a number of reminders from the Ombudsman’s office.

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Nick Bennett said issuing the report gave him "significant cause for concern" about the health board’s handling of complaints.

Powys Teaching Health Board has commissioned an indepedent review to "ensure that swift improvements are made" in response to today's report.

The report revealed that information received from the health board had been misleading and updates provided had done nothing but raise Mrs A’s expectations that a resolution to her complaint, which she originally made in July 2019, was forthcoming.

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, Nick Bennett, said: “The events giving rise to me issuing this report give me significant cause for concern about the health board’s management of its complaint handling function and also its candour.

“I consider it unacceptable for a major public body to fail to take prompt and effective actions to ensure that agreed recommendations are implemented, and to fail to live up to what are, in effect, binding promises to me as Ombudsman.

“While my office remains sensitive to the pressures on public services provided by the Covid-19 pandemic, the original agreement with Powys Teaching Health Board pre-dates this period and I fully expect the Health board to comply with my recommendations.

“I am hopeful my office’s new Complaints Standards role will have a positive impact on complaint handling in Wales and I would encourage Health Boards to fully engage with training that my staff are currently rolling out.”

In response to the special report, Chief Executive of Powys Teaching Health Board Carol Shillabeer said: “We fully accept the findings of the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales and are sorry that on this occasion we failed to meet the standards that our patients and their families have a right to expect.

“We apologise unreservedly to Mrs A and have commissioned an independent review of our Putting Things Right process to ensure that swift improvements are made.”

The Public Services Ombudsman has legal powers to look into complaints about public services and independent care providers in Wales. 

It is only the second time the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has issued a special report against an NHS body since being appointed six years ago.