Decision Report 201402013

Summary

Mr C complained that a prison psychiatrist left out relevant information when referring him to a specialist clinic. Mr C was concerned that the letter did not inform the clinic of details of his diagnosis and previous input he had from psychiatry and psychology. He was of the view that this could have delayed his treatment.

We took independent advice on this complaint from one of our mental health advisers, who reviewed the referral letter. He observed that the letter did specifically refer to Mr C's previous psychiatric treatment and, while it did not refer to a formal diagnosis, it mentioned the issues that Mr C was facing. He noted that there was no reference to previous input from psychology but could not say whether the psychiatrist would have been aware of this. In any event, he noted that the clinic would wish to carry out their own detailed assessment, exploring all relevant history, before starting any treatment. He, therefore, did not consider that the omission of some information would significantly impact on Mr C's future treatment. We accepted this advice and did not uphold the complaint.