Mental Health complaints and investigations

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Dear Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,

The following relates to the period Jan 2013 - Jan 2018. Please break down by year.

(1) How many complaints were received by the PHSO during that period?
(2) How many related to Mental Health Trusts / commissioned Services ?
(3) How many of those complaints relating to Mental Health Trusts/commissioned services were escalated to full investigation?
(4) Please provide the outcome findings in % terns where possible ie found/not found to be responsible/guilty - whatever the terms/measurements used

Please also provide the following information:
(5) How many of the aforementioned cases were referred to the Joint Working Team for full investigation?
(6) Please provide a copy of the guidance to officers /investigators on when to seek/ refer to specialist advice - clinical or legal
(7) Please provide the information as to where PHSO draws said experts from - is there a panel or a list and if so please provide it
(8) Please provide the guidance given to officers/investigators on application of the Equality Act when investigating and in particular when/how to make reasonable adjustments for mental health

Yours faithfully,

Alea

informationrights@ombudsman.org.uk, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman


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InformationRights, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

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Dear Alea,

 

Thank you for your request for information.

 

However before we can provide a response we would need you to provide your
surname. This is in line with ICO guidance.
[1]https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

 

 

Regards

 

 

Freedom Of Information/Data Protection Team

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

W: [2]www.ombudsman.org.uk

 

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C Rock left an annotation ()

I made a complaint about negligent care leading to my sons death. I approached the PHSO in 2009. The complaint has still not been resolved.

The PHSO have been totally unable to understand the complaint and the issues arising. One of the issues was the deliberate attempt of the NHS departments to cover up what they did. What turned into a nightmare - as if I needed more - was the way the PHSO looked only for excuses and gaping holes in the NHS submissions so they could dismiss complaints, make assumptions about what happened without asking me to confirm, effectively calling me a liar about the negligent events that led up to his death; making full use of the fact that the NHS departments had not recorded events at all, or had recorded them incorrectly.

This was easy pickings for the PHSO who then said they could hardly look into negligence and abuse which (of course) was not recorded by NHS. At the last contact with PHSO they had refused to look into service complaints (dismissed- no further action). They had revealed an early error in my son's care procedures which affected all further care, and gave the lie to NHS submitted statements.. It in effect nullified all following investigation based on the lie. Then the PHSO told me "my son would probably have died anyway". True. Unbelievable and completely out of order and off piste. Obviously not interested in learning or saving lives. No sign of the intelligence you'd need in mental health cases where nobody writes down actions and reasons for decisions as per policies. That plays in their favour because the PHSO hasn't a clue.

I have GP names and BSMHT names of those involved in the negligence and cover-up, and will wait until Police start to take notice of the pattern of negligent avoidable deaths with common trends of corruption in the PHSO and NHS collusion, evident in the last outcome. I have heard anecdotally that some of the offenders are still in the same employ, and carrying on with the same destructive attitude.

The unwarranted, insulting and unbelievable responses of the PHSO now have me on medication and counselling just for their abuse of me bringing a genuine complaint and asking for an intelligent investigation; let alone my son's avoidable and predictable loss considering the careless and ignorant way he was first approached and then left to deteriorate over 5 years. In the same way the PHSO has played me for 9 years while the trail went cold. They will probably tell me next that there's no way it can be investigated after this time, and that their policy is to dispose of case material quite promptly - unlike any judicial process I've ever heard of. I still have the evidence however, including the evidence they never asked for and chose to 'overlook'.

I am still waiting for a proper response to complaints. The ball is in PHSO R Behrens' court to look at this outstanding case and a number of others of similar nature where complainants have been illegally 'abused' rather than trusted.

Dear Information Rights,

My full legal name as changed by deed poll is Alea Iacta Est.
PHSO are aware of my identity

Yours sincerely,

Alea

Informationrights@ombudsman.org.uk, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman


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Dear Alea Iacta Est.

 

Thank you for your email. Your request will be responded to in line with
the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

A response will be sent to you on or before 2 May 2018 in line with the
statutory timeframes set out in the Act.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Freedom Of Information/Data Protection Team

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

W: [1]www.ombudsman.org.uk

 

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InformationRights, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

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Dear Ms Iacta Est,

 

Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

 

Further to your request for the disclosure of information under the
provisions of the above Act, we are now in a position to respond.

 

The following relates to the period Jan 2013 - Jan 2018. Please break down
by year.

 

The figures below are for financial year rather than calendar year.

 

(1)  How many complaints were received by the PHSO during that period?

 

2013/2014 – 27566

2014/2015 – 28189

2015/2016 – 28936

2016/2017 – 31444

2017/2018 - 32305

 

 

(2)  How many related to Mental Health Trusts / commissioned Services ?

 

2013/2014 – 1746

2014/2015 – 1977

2015/2016 – 1960

2016/2017 – 1969

2017/2018 - 1878

 

 

(3)  How many of those complaints relating to Mental Health
Trusts/commissioned services were escalated to full investigation?

 

2013/2014 – 299

2014/2015 – 345

2015/2016 – 340

2016/2017 – 352

2017/2018 -214

 

Numbers stated for complaints escalated to investigation relate to number
escalated in that year (case may have been received in the previous year).

 

 

(4)  Please provide the outcome findings in % terns where possible ie
found/not found to be responsible/guilty - whatever the terms/measurements
used

 

2013/2014 – 51%

2014/2015 – 33%

2015/2016 – 37%

2016/2017 – 33%

2015/2016 – 36%

 

The percentages stated refer to the percentage of investigations concluded
in the year in question where the outcome was upheld or partially upheld.

 

 

Please also provide the following information:

(5)  How many of the aforementioned cases were referred to the Joint
Working Team for full investigation?

 

2013/2014 – 43

2014/2015 – 49

2015/2016 – 52

2016/2017 – 52

2017/2018 - 35

 

(6)  Please provide a copy of the guidance to officers /investigators on
when to seek/ refer to specialist advice - clinical or legal

 

The information is publically available and therefore exempt under s21 of
the Act as it is reasonably accessible on our website
[1]https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/defau...
. In order to assist, please find attached the relevant sections of
guidance on clinical and legal advice.

Section 7 of the guidance discusses generally how we reach our decision
and how we use evidence and again is available via the following link
[2]https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/defau...

 

(7)  Please provide the information as to where PHSO draws said experts
from - is there a panel or a list and if so please provide it

 

Two internal professional advisors.

One psychiatrist and one mental health nurse.

Both of these clinicians are in current NHS practice and work one day for
PHSO.

They were appointed from national adverts (BMJ and Royal Colleges) and
underwent the PHSO interview process.

 

We also retain a database of clinicians in practice under the following
specialist headings:

Child and Adolescent 7

Mental Health 14

Mental health nurses 16

Psychiatrists 36

Psychologists 11

Psychology 3

Psychosexual/Psychotherapy 2

Forensic Psychiatry 7

 

 

(8) Please provide the guidance given to officers/investigators on
application of the Equality Act when investigating and in particular
when/how to make reasonable adjustments for mental health

 

The attached document includes our guidance on Equality Act and reasonable
adjustments.

 

We hope that this information is useful. If you believe we have made an
error in the way we have processed your information request, it is open to
you to request an internal review.  You can do this by writing to us by
post or by email to [3][PHSO request email]. 

 

You will need to specify what the nature of the issue is and we can
consider the matter further. Beyond that, it is open to you to complain to
the Information Commissioner’s Office ([4]www.ico.org.uk).

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Freedom Of Information/Data Protection Team

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

W: [5]www.ombudsman.org.uk

 

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C Rock left an annotation ()

It may help the enquirer to know that I have had an outstanding complaint about a death in the NHS mental health sector, for over 9 years.

The PHSO tried to write it off this year after a 2 year wait for competent review; it may therefore be (or not be) in the figures for the period in question. There may be other complaints in the same category.