Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mr W complains about the care he had after he phoned the Trust’s mental health crisis line in January 2023. Mr W was experiencing a mental health crisis at this time and phoned the Trust for support.

5. Mr W said that after he ended the call to the Trust, the call was not disconnected, and he heard staff laughing and speaking about him in an offensive manner.

6. Mr W said this caused him to self-harm and he has a scar as a reminder of what happened. Mr W said the event caused him significant distress as he still thinks about the incident regularly.

7. He is looking for a financial payment.

8. Mr W has a history of mental health issues and had been getting support from the Trust’s mental health team, the hospital and his GP since September/October 2022.

9. In January 2023, the Trust discharged Mr W from a voluntary two-week section (treatment under the Mental Health Act). After his discharge, he experienced suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self-harm. Later in the day Mr W phoned the Trust’s crisis line for mental health support.

10. Mr W had a short phone call with the crisis line. At the end of the call it did not disconnect properly and he heard staff laughing about him and making offensive comments.

13. The Trust’s response accepted the behaviour he experienced was unacceptable and apologised for the attitude of its staff. The Trust said it had made service improvements, by training staff to make sure other service users do not have a similar experience.

14. The Trust also gave Mr W a personal apology from the member of staff concerned.

15. Mr W called the crisis line at a time of need. What he experienced does suggest a failing.

16. We next considered what the impact of this event was on Mr W. He told us he self-harmed and continues to feel distressed, embarrassed and humiliated by what the member of staff said.

17. In this case, we note the Trust has already apologised and made some service improvements. But, we do not think this is enough. Our Principles are clear that when poor service has led to an injustice, organisations should try to offer a solution that returns the person to the position they would have been in before. If that is not possible, it should make an appropriate financial payment.

18. We used our guidance on financial remedy. In complaints where there has been a similar impact, we have recommended for organisations to pay £500 to recognise the distress their actions caused. We asked the Trust if it would be willing to do this. It has confirmed it is willing to make a payment and Mr W is happy that this resolves his complaint.

19. We are satisfied the Trust’s apology, explanation, learning and the financial payment it will make are enough to put right what happened.

20. We realise how difficult it has been for Mr W to discuss this situation with us and the distress the event caused him. We thank Mr W for taking the time to bring his complaint to us. We are happy we have been able to achieve this resolution for him.

1. We have carefully considered Mr W’s complaint about Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We are deeply sorry to hear of what happened to Mr W and the distress this caused him.

2. We have agreed some action with the Trust to resolve Mr W’s complaint. Mr W told us he wanted the Trust to make a financial payment to him for the distress caused. The Trust has agreed to make a payment of £500 to resolve the complaint.

3. Based on this, we are satisfied that Mr W’s complaint had been resolved and we will take no further action.