Decision Report 202301856

Summary

C had a number of concerns about their child (A)’s behaviour, development, and educational attainment. A was referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the board. An assessment was carried out, the result of which was that A was not diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental condition.

C complained that the board had unreasonably discharged A from the CAMHS service after having determined that they did not have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), without sufficient consideration being given to other potential diagnoses, and that the board failed to provide reasonable support following the lack of a diagnosis.

We took independent advice from a psychologist specialising in CAMHS. We found that the while the board had ruled out ADHD, their assessment had also considered other neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID), as well as a broader consideration of A’s circumstances and early life experiences. It was evident that A did not meet the criteria for ongoing treatment via CAMHS and that that the board had carried out a sufficiently thorough and comprehensive assessment prior to discharging A. We also found that appropriate thought and consideration had been given to ensuring that A and C were engaged with the relevant agencies with respect to ongoing support being available, in particular through A’s schooling.

For these reasons, we found that the care and treatment provided to C and A had been reasonable and we did not uphold C’s complaints.