Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mrs A complains about the mental health care and treatment given to her son.

4. She complains about the negligent care over the past twenty years. In particular she complains the Trust:

• failed to recognise Mr A had tardive dyskinesia (a condition where your face, body or both make sudden, irregular movements which you cannot control) • delayed starting a plan to reduce Mr A’s medication • did not offer her son an independent second opinion • prescribed clozapine (psychiatric medication) to Mr A for too long • failed to diagnose Mr A with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) • refused Mrs A access to see her son.

5. Mrs A says that taking clozapine for a long time has made Mr A’s legs weak and he struggles to walk. He has needed to use a wheelchair for periods of time and has had a prominent rash for years.

6. She says the diagnosis and treatment causes a traumatic life for her as his main carer and has ruined Mr A’s life. She said the diagnosis of schizophrenia has stopped Mr A from living a full life and prevented him from getting the right diagnosis of PTSD.

7. She said this has taken their life away and affected their relationship.

8. Mrs A would like a financial payment for the negligent care. She would like the Trust to accept its wrongdoings and make service improvements.

12. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has (or had) the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is (or was) unreasonable in the circumstances. We have discussed this with Mrs A to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option to look in to.

13. Mrs A said the care given to her son was clinically negligent. She said the Trust have caused physical and mental harm to Mr A due to the long-term prescription of clozapine. She said Mr A has lost function of his legs and needs a wheelchair because of the medication. She feels the mental health care the Trust have given to her son is psychological abuse. She believes the diagnosis of schizophrenia is wrong and it has ruined their lives.

14. She wants a financial payment for the 20 years of negligence. She also wants service improvements and an acknowledgement of wrongdoing.

15. From speaking to Mrs A, we understand she could make a claim for clinical negligence. We cannot make a clinical negligence finding, a court would be better placed to do this.

16. We have considered whether it would be reasonable for Mrs A to explore her legal options. Mrs A explained she has an ongoing court case relating to her son’s Power of Attorney. When this court case is over, she said she would be looking to make a clinical negligence claim for her son’s care.

17. Mrs A thought she could ask us to investigate and take legal action on the complaint at the same time. We explained that if there is a legal route available, we must ask her to take this before we investigate.

18. We also explained that although we can achieve financial payments if we find a failing, it would be unlikely to be as much as what can be achieved by making a clinical negligence claim.

19. We are satisfied that a court is better placed to consider Mrs A’s clinical negligence claim and to provide a financial payment that reflects the impact she describes. Mrs A can return to us after she has explored legal action if there are any outstanding concerns that the legal process could not deal with.

1. We have carefully considered Mrs A’s complaint about Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We are sorry to hear about her son’s, Mr A, experience and we understand how distressing this has been for Mrs A.

2. We appreciate Mrs A bringing her complaint to us and taking time to discuss it with us. We think Mrs A could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us.