Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mr A complains that the Trust did not provide proper treatment on the Mental Health Ward and discharged him in a psychotic state of mind. He also complains the Trust has failed to send him copies of his medical records.

5. Mr A says because of failings he did not receive the treatment and support he would have gotten if he was in a Mental Health Unit. He says he feels distressed by not getting copies of his records. The impact of the failings caused Mr A distress, however when he was transferred to a Mental Health Unit at a different Trust, he got the support he required.

6. Mr A would like more staff to have training when working with patients with mental health issues in general hospitals. He also wants a copy of his medical records.

7. On 2 August, Mr A was transported to the Trust by the police after an incident. He was admitted and assessed. On the 4 August, Mr A was transferred to a Mental Health Unit at another Trust.

8. Mr A complained to the Trust on 20 April in relation to the way he feels as he was treated while he was a patient at the Trust between 2 and 4 August. Mr A received a final response letter on 18 August and submitted his complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on 27 August.

11. Before we decide if we should investigate a complaint, we look at whether there are signs the organisation has got something wrong. We do this by comparing what should have happened with what did happen. We have done this and, we have not found any indications that something has gone wrong.

Treatment

12. Mr A complains the Trust did not provide proper treatment on the Mental Health Ward and discharged him in a psychotic state of mind.

13. The Trust explained that the hospital at the Trust is an acute hospital and because of this, it was only able to complete an assessment and arrange for Mr A to be transferred back to the appropriate Mental Health Unit at a different Trust. There they could provide him with the treatment and medication that he needed for his diagnosis.

14. We understand that this was distressing and upsetting for Mr A, however, after talking to him and looking through the Trust’s response, it appears the Trust clearly explained what happened and why.

15. Our Principles of Good Complaint Handling say organisations should be open and honest when accounting for their decisions and actions. They should give clear evidence-based explanations and reasons for their decisions.

16. The Trust has informed Mr A of what happened and why the acute hospital was unable to provide a higher level of mental health care, and therefore referred and transferred him to a specialist Mental Health Unit. This is in line with our principles above.

17. We have not seen indications that anything went wrong regarding this complaint and will therefore not be taking any further action.

Medical Records

18. Mr A complains the Trust did not provide his medical records when he requested them.

19. The Trust gave details in its complaint response of the department, address, and telephone number Mr A could contact to make his request. This is in line with our Principles of Good Complaint Handling: ‘Be open and honest when accounting for their decisions and actions. They should give clear, evidence-based explanations, and reasons for their decisions.’ The Trust gave Mr A the information he needed to make his request.

20. Mr A informed us that this did not have a direct impact on him, he was just asking for them for his own piece of mind. While he might have been caused some distress at not receiving copies of his medical records, the Trust has given him the information he needed to make this request and receive copies.

21. We have not seen indications that anything went wrong regarding this complaint and will therefore not be taking any further action. Again, we are pleased that Mr A is now in a good position with his mental health and has the support he needs.

1. We have carefully considered Mr A’s complaint about the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We were sorry to hear of the distress, upset and confusion caused by the events at the Trust and its later correspondence with him.

2. We have carefully considered the evidence Mr A gave us and have discussed his complaint with him. From what Mr A has told us, we understand the impact of what happened. We were pleased to hear that now time has passed since these events he is in a good place in his life, with a good support network from his family and community mental health teams.

3. After our discussions, we have decided not to take further action on the complaint as the Trust has already given explanations about what happened and explained how he could request copies of his medical records. We have therefore decided that nothing went seriously wrong. We will explain our decision in more detail below.