HEALTH bosses at Lancashire Care Trust have been reprimanded for trying to "discredit and humiliate" a patient's daughter.

Cynthia Gillespie, of Heather Bank, Rawtenstall, has been in dispute with the trust over the care of her mother, leading to her taking legal action.

But a complaints manager at the trust, which provides mental health services for adults and the elderly, made comments about her in a meeting to discredit her High Court application.

And when she complained, the trust failed to carry out a proper investigation, an ombudsman found.

Now bosses have been told to tighten up their complaints procedure -- and write a letter of apology to Miss Gillespie.

The Health Service Ombudsman for England, Jonathan Wingmore, agreed with her complaints and said that because her concerns were not appropriately addressed it affected her High Court action.

Today, retired nurse Miss Gillespie said: "Allegations were made about me which were not true and the trust's actions have prevented me making an application to the High Court. I sincerely hope lessons will be learnt."

The ombudsman found allegations made by the complaints manager at a care programme approach meeting were knowingly made with intent to discredit Miss Gillespie's court action and likely to lead to her feeling humiliated.

And the ombudsman found the trust failed to respond appropriately or within a reasonable timescale to her request that it either withdraw the allegations or provide evidence.

In his report the ombudsman said: "I am concerned at the actions of the trust manager.

"While I welcome its apology to Miss Gillespie, I am also concerned the trust response seeks to excuse its failures to some extent by suggesting that an appropriate and prompt response to the complaint was hindered by the actions of Miss Gillespie. I have no evidence that was the case.

"I recommend that the complaints manager's line manager reflects with her on lessons to be learned and that the chief executive takes the necessary action to ensure all complaints, including those about the actions of complaints staff, are fully and objectively investigated in order that an open, honest, appropriate and timely response can be provided."

Finlay Robertson, trust chief executive, said: "We accepted the recommendation and apologised to Miss Gillespie."