Decision report 201101839

Summary
Miss C complained that, over a number of years, the board's staff had failed to listen to her or obtain her previous medical records. She said that these would have shown that she had suffered from epileptic seizures and that she should have been diagnosed with post-ictal psychosis (a rare complication that can occur after a series of seizures). As a result Miss C felt she had been unreasonably detained under the Mental Health Act.

We took detailed advice from two of our medical advisers on Miss C's complaint. We found that Miss C had complex symptoms, some of which were considered to be caused by epileptic seizures and others by non-epileptic seizures. We found that, over the years, clinicians had carried out appropriate examinations in an effort to reach a definitive diagnosis, and that sight of Miss C's previous medical records would be unlikely to have altered their thinking. Although it did take time to reach a diagnosis, we were satisfied that the clinicians involved had clearly taken account of what Miss C had told them, and in the circumstances had arrived at reasonable diagnoses.