Peterborough man with schizophrenia left without appropriate aftercare after being sectioned

Peterborough healthcare providers have offered their “sincere apologies” to a man who was left without appropriate aftercare after being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

A spokesperson for the NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) said that they want to “acknowledge and learn from errors where things have not gone the way they should have” after repeated failures to arrange follow-up meetings with the man and his carer.

The man, who has severe autism and schizophrenia, was detained and taken into hospital in December 2016, meaning he should have been allocated a care coordinator and annual meetings to review his aftercare needs on his release.

But, despite the efforts of his carer, the man had still not been allocated such a coordinator some seven years later, while meetings about his aftercare needs stopped in 2019.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) upheld a complaint submitted by the carer in May 2022 that found the ICB and CPFT, as well as Peterborough City Council (PCC) – which also has a duty of care – had failed to make the necessary arrangements.

It then upheld a further complaint in November 2023 that, despite the ombudsman’s initial findings, this still hadn’t happened.

The LGSCO said in its most recent judgement that it acknowledges the complicating factor that the man involved in this case was unwilling to work with certain CPFT clinicians connected to a learning disability unit where he has previously been an impatient.

It also acknowledges that he was given an appointment with a consultant psychiatrist in 2022 after its initial judgement, while PCC completed a social care assessment.

But the delays to arranging appropriate care – particularly in relation to the annual review meetings – still caused “inconvenience and frustration” to the man and his carer, it added.

The LGSCO ordered PCC, the ICB and CPFT to each pay £100 to both men in compensation as a result, totalling a £600 payout.

They were also told to appoint the man a care coordinator and arrange an aftercare meeting with him within two months, which PCC says has now happened.

A spokesperson said: "We accept the findings by the Ombudsman, have carried out the actions required in their report and will recognise the learnings from this.

"We would also like to offer our apologies to the individuals involved for any distress caused.

"A Section 117 review [aftercare meeting] has now been completed and we are actively working with our partners to resolve the appointment of a care coordinator."

In a joint statement, the ICB and CPFT said: "We want to acknowledge and learn from errors where things have not gone the way they should have, so that we can provide better care for our local communities in the future.

"We'd like to thank the Ombudsman for carrying out this investigation, and offer our sincere apologies to the individuals involved."