The BBC Radio 4 Today programme turned the spotlight on the healthcare commission, in charge of examining the complaints from patients about their experience with NHS, which the commission has heavily fallen back on meeting the deadline.

The Healthcare Commission has a huge pile of 3000 cases yet to investigated, which makes up almost 55% of the total number of complaints given to the commission.

Marcia Fry, head of the healthcare department at the Commission, said: "Certainly we are not meeting our own targets and we are very sorry for the additional distress that we are causing people as a result of that. But we have seen this unprecedented rise of complaints coming to us - 17,000 in the two years since we have taken on this function - against 3,000 each year in the NHS. We know what patients want - they want an explanation and an apology. They are not getting that at the local level where it is best provided."