Probe: 20 children’s hip op referrals lost in fax

An investigation by the Children’s Ombudsman led to the revelation that 20 referrals involving hip procedures for children were lost when they were faxed from one hospital to another.

The finding is one of a number of investigations carried out by the Office of the Ombudsman for Children (OCO) last year, with its annual report revealing that it received 1,682 new complaints in 2016 — an increase on the number received the previous year and almost 50% more than the figure for 2010.

The OCO’s annual report, to be launched today, shows that while education accounted for 46% of complaints and child protection and welfare accounted for another 23%, there was a 3% increase in health complaints to 17% and a growth in the number of complaints involving housing.