A failure to deal with complaints did not relate to Essex Ambulance Service, bosses have said.

A recent survey by health watchdog the Healthcare Commission into the NHS complaints process identified 32 healthcare Trusts which were unsatisfactory.

East of England Ambulance Service was named as one of 12 Trusts where "significant lapses" in the national standards were found.

A spokesman for the ambulance service explained the review had been done before the East of England Trust was formed and the problems related to the former Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire ambulance services.

The new Trust came into effect on July 1, 2006, and covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: "The Complaints Audit National Report relates to the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire locality only and not to Essex.

"A new complaints policy is in place following a review, which the whole of the Trust follows."

The Healthcare Commission said it was concerned about how patients were treated if they criticised a hospital or GP surgery.

Anna Walker, the commission's chief executive, said: "Given that the NHS provides 380 million treatments a year, the number of complaints - about 140,000 - is relatively small.

"But when someone does complain, Trusts need to respond well.

"The best organisations clearly value feedback from the people they serve, but the NHS is some way from doing this consistently."