A COMPLAINT against an East Lancashire doctor made after a woman died has been upheld by the Health Service Ombudsman.

Michael Buckley today published his annual report in which he investigated 204 complaints in the UK, upholding 69 per cent of them.

The complaint against the East Lancashire Health Authority concerned the care and treatment of a patient and the subsequent handling of a complaint by the patient's partner.

The ombudsman heard how in March 1997 the doctor - named only as Dr 'M' in the report - was asked to make a home visit after a patient began to be sick.

A rehydrating solution was prescribed although when the patient's condition did not improve the family contacted the doctor three times over the next nine days, in which more anti-sickness tablets were prescribed.

On the ninth day the doctor paid another home visit and decided to send her to hospital. The patient later died of a high blood calcium level and lung and kidney failure. Although the widower complained 11 months after the event - five months after the usual deadline - because he was "overwhelmed with grief", the ombudsman criticised the doctor for not responding until a further six months because he was off sick from work. Only then did he decide not to respond as he thought the complaint should have been made earlier and events had happened too long ago for him to remember them clearly.

He also said that dealing with the complaint might upset the the patient's partner.

But the ombudsman said bereavement affected people in different ways and pointed out that the partner had made the complaint as he wanted answers to his questions in order to allow him to come to terms with his grief. He also noted that despite claiming he could not recall the details Dr M "was able to recall substantial details some three years later for during the ombudsman's investigation."

As for the care of the patient, the ombudsman said Dr M "should have considered whether the cause of vomiting might have been something other than a viral infection" although acknowledged that sending her to hospital was correct procedure. He also found that Dr M's record-keeping was inadequate and that he delegated too much to his staff's discretion when entering notes on the computer.

A copy of the report has been sent to health chiefs with a recommendation it looks at Dr M's record keeping, his actions and whether he should be referred to another body. It said it was up to the authority to decide if action should be taken.

A spokesman for East Lancashire Health Authority today said it was "considering recommendations."