We laid five investigation reports and 80 decision summaries before the Scottish Parliament today.

A Wigan secondary school whose admissions appeals process was found to contain a number of errors has been asked to offer fresh hearings to families failed by its system.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) stepped in to investigate St Edmund Arrowsmith RC High School in the town after receiving three separate complaints about its admissions appeal panel.

Errors found by an LGO investigation into the way the panel conducted the appeals included not coming to a firm decision on whether the school was full, allowing the presenting officer to make positive personal comments in support of individual children’s circumstances, and not giving clear reasons to families why their children were not being admitted.

At stage one of the appeal process, the panel needed to decide whether the school was full.

But the LGO found that the panel did not properly make the decision that the school was full.
Instead the panel decided to admit some children at stage one, and decided to consider each child’s case on its own merit. However the panel was not consistent in the reasons for admitting children.

Additionally, some of the letters sent to the families did not make reference to any arguments made by the parents, while other letters made only passing reference.

The LGO has asked the school to offer fresh appeals for all the unsuccessful children, using a new clerk and panel. The school does not accept there was fault but has agreed to offer fresh appeals for the three children who complained to the LGO, but not for other unsuccessful applicants.

Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, said:

“Throughout my investigation the school and the local council, which provided the panel, have not acknowledged the faults I have identified with the appeals process.

“A number of families were left uncertain about whether their children should have received a place, because of the panel’s poor handling of the appeal. The school now has the chance to restore the families’ faith in the fairness of the system by properly considering fresh appeals for those who complained to us. I would now urge them to extend this to all the families who were unsuccessful at appeal so that they can demonstrate that they have applied the wider lessons from the complaint.”

Parents who have concerns about the way that their appeal for a school place was considered can complain to the LGO, as set out in the School Admissions Appeal Code and the Local Government Act 1974. This does not include complaints about admission appeals to academies or free schools as they are not in the LGO’s jurisdiction.

Hace unos meses, se dirigió a esta institución una vecina para comunicarnos que la recomendación que el Síndic dirigió al Ayuntamiento de Castellón en julio de 2013 y que éste aceptó, pidiendo restablecer la legalidad urbanística a causa de unas obras ilegales, no se había cumplido. De acuerdo con la interesada, ni se habían impuesto las multas ni se habían ejecutado de manera subsidiaria los trabajos de demolición de las obras. Esta situación motivó la apertura de un nuevo expediente.

Con arreglo a la información facilitada al Síndic, la afectada presentó la  primera denuncia al Ayuntamiento de Castellón en el año 2010 y, según reconoce el propio consistorio, el procedimiento de restauración de la legalidad urbanística iniciado a petición de la afectada caducó, por lo que se tuvo que iniciar un nuevo expediente. En total, han trascurrido más de cuatro años sin que este asunto se haya resuelto.

El Ayuntamiento de Castellón, por su parte, ha informado al defensor que el negociado administrativo que se encarga de estos asuntos está actualmente atendiendo más de 400 expedientes y que los va tramitando en función de los medios disponibles y de la gravedad de los hechos.

En este sentido, el Síndic entiende que no es siempre fácil reaccionar con prontitud ante todas las infracciones urbanísticas que se cometen en un término municipal. Pero en este caso concreto, en el que se ha detectado y se ha denunciado un incumplimiento de la norma urbanística, las autoridades locales tienen la obligación de restablecer la legalidad urbanística vulnerada en el plazo máximo de cuatro años desde la total terminación de las obras, ya que, de lo contrario, las obras ilegales terminan consolidándose sin poder ordenar la demolición de las mismas.  Asimismo, el defensor insiste en que la Administración local debe respetar la propia normativa urbanística y ejercer un control preventivo y represivo de las actividades constructivas que se realizan en el término municipal.

De acuerdo con el defensor del pueblo valenciano, la disciplina urbanística va más allá de lo que pudiera considerarse un mero problema de construcciones y  licencias; el urbanismo engloba, nada más y nada menos, que el equilibrio de las ciudades y del territorio en general. Por todo ello, Cholbi considera que  es un acto muy grave que las normas que se han establecido pensando en la justicia, en la certeza y en el bien común, después, mediante actos injustos, se incumplan; generalizando el incumplimiento es difícil sabe a dónde se puede llegar. 

Por todo ello, el Síndic ha recomendado al Ayuntamiento de Castellón que teniendo en cuenta el tiempo transcurrido desde la primera denuncia presentada, se impulse la tramitación del expediente para restablecer la legalidad urbanística conculcada, evitando que prescriba la acción para demoler las obras ilegalizables y que se proceda a la resolución del recurso de reposición pendiente, permitiendo la continuidad en la tramitación del expediente de referencia.

A 62-year-old woman could have survived a severe infection called sepsis had she received proper care at a London-based hospital, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has found.

The woman went into Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust suffering from abdominal pain and blood in her urine but following inconclusive tests was discharged.

She went to hospital several more times because of her pain and was eventually admitted for exploratory surgery but before this could take place her condition worsened and she died.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor said:

"Our investigation found that because of a series of errors at a hospital a woman lost her life.

"Her husband told us that he has lost his best friend just before he and his wife were due to start a new life together.

"Our investigation found that staff had made errors in adequately assessing the woman's condition, treat her with appropriate antibiotics in enough time, or to take enough steps to control the clotting of her blood before surgery. Nor should it have discharged the woman after her admissions. The Trust's complaint handling was also poor.

"We hope our investigation and the action taken by the Trust will reassure him that lessons have been learnt as a result of his complaint so that others are less likely to suffer the same experience."

In a similar case another investigation carried out by the PHSO found that a Surrey-based hospital's failures reduced an elderly man's chances of survival from sepsis.

The 77-year-old man was admitted to Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with several health problems.

The investigation found that although he was managed appropriately once he was in the care of the medical team, the care he received during the initial period did not meet the expected standard.

His condition was not recognised for more than two hours until he was seen by a doctor, who suspected he might have sepsis while antibiotics were not started until four hours after admission.

This reduced his chances of recovery. The Trust agreed to pay his daughter £1,200 in compensation for the distress and to acknowledge and apologise to her for the failings and injustice caused and to identify what service improvements might be needed.

His daughter said:

"My father went into hospital with sepsis and never returned home again. Nothing in this world can replace him and all the family are devastated by such a loss. After his death, I felt that he did not always receive the best treatment and care he deserved. Because of this, I took the decision to forward my concerns to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) in the hope that others would benefit from this.  

"In my case, I found the PHSO to have acted in a very professional manner, showing kindness, attention to detail and a relentless determination to provide a quality service. I found the investigation to have been carried out promptly, impartial and in a very open and fair way".

Julie Mellor added:

"Sepsis is a treatable condition, but too many people are dying unnecessarily from it because NHS services are failing to spot the warning signs.

"Our report, Time To Act, recommended a combined effort by the health sector was needed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.

"This is now being taken forward by a range of health organisations including NHS England, NICE, and Public Health England after the Department of Health made announcements at the end of last year that have the potential to save thousands of lives each year."

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is independent and impartially investigates complaints from individuals about UK government departments, and other public organisations, and the NHS in England. It carries out adjudications making final decisions on people's complaints. The Ombudsman Service investigates 4,000 cases a year and upholds around 42 per cent.

Notes to editors

1. Sepsis is a time-critical condition that can lead to organ damage, multi-organ failure, septic shock and eventual death. Caused by the body's immune response to a bacterial or fungal infection, it claims 37,000 lives annually in the UK and many more are affected and suffer in the longer term.
2. In September 2013, we published our first clinical report on sepsis Time to Act. It focuses on ten complaints we investigated about patients with severe sepsis who did not receive the treatment they urgently needed. In every case, tragically the patient died. Our report highlighted what went wrong.
3. Since we published our report, we have been working with others to help improve NHS care on sepsis. We have partnered with the UK Sepsis Trust and been working closely with NHS England, NICE, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Surgeons, and the College of Emergency Medicine to find solutions to the issues identified in our report.
4. At the end of last year the Department of Health announced a series of improvements across the system including a public awareness campaign to be launched by Public Health England.