Southern Trust: ‘We had to fight for answers around dad’s death’

Commenting on the figures Margaret Kelly said: “With the type of cases my office is seeing I am increasingly of the opinion that SAIs are not working.

“We are seeing patients and families, like Mr Cull’s family, who do not trust that the process is open and honest, and this is happening on too many occasions, so I think the process needs re-looked at, centred around patients and families.”

Following the ombudsman’s investigation into Mr Culls’ case, the Southern Trust provided the family with a written apology.

“We wanted to honour my dad’s life, so that his death wouldn’t be in vain, to raise awareness so that this doesn’t happen to other families,” said Stephen.

The Department of Health said work was ongoing to improve the Serious Adverse Incident review process across Northern Ireland.

A spokesperson added: “While there is undoubtedly also good practice across the HSC in undertaking SAI reviews, there is clear evidence from inquiries and reports that aspects of the current SAI procedure is often not working well for all those involved, and needs to be refreshed and redesigned.”