Independent investigation: Daniel Quelch, Maidenhead, Berks (2007)

We recommend that the trust considers issuing guidance on how the particular skills of recovery team members are matched to clients when allocating care coordinators.

The trust should issue guidance on what staff can do when faced with a service-user being out of area but needing help.

The trust should remind staff that families and carers should be advised of their right to request a Mental Health Act assessment.

The trust should issue guidance on the value of ensuring clinical records include not only factual information but also the writer’s clinical view, judgments and reasons for them.

The trust should review its approach to convening internal serious untoward incident panels to ensure that they have enough time to undertake a thorough investigation. External panel members should be used only in exceptional circumstances. Interviews should be recorded and … Read more The trust should review its approach to convening internal serious untoward incident panels to ensure that they have enough time to undertake a thorough investigation. External panel members should be used only in exceptional circumstances. Interviews should be recorded and transcribed. Show less

The recovery team no longer exists and all community mental health teams (CMHTs) have been redesigned as newly formed recovery teams. Consequently the trust should provide assurance to its primary care trust commissioners that the new operational policies of these … Read more The recovery team no longer exists and all community mental health teams (CMHTs) have been redesigned as newly formed recovery teams. Consequently the trust should provide assurance to its primary care trust commissioners that the new operational policies of these teams reflect the recommendation of the internal review that the recovery team develop a common understanding of the factors that contribute to the difficulties experienced by people with schizophrenia which gives equal recognition to biological, social and psychological factors. Show less

The trust should provide assurance to its primary care trust commissioners that the new recovery teams are using HONOS or some other recognised outcome scale.

The trust should provide assurance to its primary care trust commissioners of the level of psychology involvement now available in the newly formed recovery teams (previously CMHTs).

The trust should ensure that the draft dual diagnosis policy is formally approved and implemented as a trust policy to ensure that draft policies are not ignored by practitioners on the grounds that they are not yet in force.