Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

4. Miss R complains in November and December 2022 the Trust failed to diagnose her with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and mixed anxiety disorder after carrying out two assessments. Miss R says it incorrectly diagnosed her with moderate anxiety and said she was damaged from smoking cannabis.

5. Miss R also complains the Trust failed to provide her with support for her complex PTSD, depression and mixed anxiety in late 2022 when she required this.

6. Miss R says the Trust sent her a letter in late December 2022 which was based on inaccurate information that she was asked to be removed as a patient. Miss R says the Trust lied and made-up events to intimidate and scare her.

7. As a result of the Trust’s actions, Miss R has told us her health and wellbeing has been in horrendous decline. Miss R says the Trust’s actions have severely affected her life. She told us the Trust has affected her relationship with her mother because it diagnosed her with damage from cannabis use. Miss R told us she had to pay for private treatment to get the correct diagnosis. She says she has been neglected by the Trust and left without the support she needs.

8. To resolve her complaint, Miss R is seeking £9,950 financial compensation. Miss R would also like to understand why the Trust did not correctly diagnose her in December 2022.

9. Miss R says she was referred to the Trust by her GP in November 2022 with the understanding she was to be assessed for further complex PTSD and emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD).

10. In November and December 2022, the Trust assessed Miss R. It obtained a medical history and carried out a mental state examination. It evaluated Miss R’s presentation and obtained a background from her which included personal and family history.

11. The two consultant psychiatrists who assessed Miss R said she did not meet the diagnosis of complex PTSD but had the impression she had moderate anxiety. One of the consultant psychiatrists concluded Miss R had mental and behavioural disorders due to long term cannabis dependency. The Trust recommended Miss R would have to stop her cannabis use before it could offer her treatment. It discharged Miss R back to primary care as it did not identify any other interventions it could offer her.

12. Within the Trust report dated December 2022, it says Miss R became angry and verbally abusive as soon as they shared their clinical impression with her, and she left the room.

13. Miss R says in mid-December the Trust sent her a letter regarding abusive behaviour when she attended. Miss R says she challenged this. She told us this was not accurate, and she was not abusive or verbally aggressive to anyone. Miss R explains it did not help her mental or physical health to receive such a letter.

14. Miss R says she obtained a private assessment in December 2022 which said she was showing symptoms of EUPD, mixed anxiety disorder and depressive disorder. The private consultant recommended a further assessment to formalise this diagnosis.

15. Miss R explains she was previously afforded a diagnosis of PTSD in 2019 and does not understand how the Trust removed this diagnosis and instead concluded she had moderate anxiety. Miss R says she disagrees with the Trust’s diagnoses of her health and has since obtained a private prescription for medical cannabis.

17. Before we decide whether we will carry out a detailed investigation there are some checks we must carry out. One of these checks includes considering whether we can achieve the outcome being sought by complainant. This is because as an Ombudsman, we are provided for and funded by the public. Therefore, we need to maintain a balance between supporting people in their complaints while ensuring we use our resources to focus on those complaints where we can achieve the outcome sought.

18. This means in some circumstances we will not consider a complaint where we cannot achieve the outcome a complainant has told us will resolve matters for them.

19. Miss R says to resolve her complaint one of the outcomes she is seeking is a financial remedy of £9,950.

20. We have discussed this amount with Miss R and firstly explored whether it is reasonable for her to pursue a legal claim. Miss R has told us there are significant barriers which prevent her from doing so. Miss R told us she is too unwell to engage with the court process and has severe health conditions which would be worsened by this for some time afterwards.

21. We discussed our process with Miss R and shared our guide to financial remedy with her. Our guide is used to help us consider appropriate levels of financial remedy. It allows us to ensure the amounts we suggest are consistent and transparent for everyone who uses our service.

22. We explained if we were to proceed and find failings, it is unlikely we would be able to achieve the amount she is seeking. We have reviewed other cases we have investigated that are like Miss R’s and for the type of impact she has claimed, can see we have recommended smaller amounts which are more in line with the lower end of level 4 on our financial remedy guide of £1,250.

23. Miss R has told us she would not be willing to accept any amount less than £9,950 and has expressed dissatisfaction with our approach and the outcomes we may be able to obtain for her if we were to investigate her complaint.

24. Having carefully considered Miss R’s complaint we have decided not to take any further action. This is because as we have already explained, we do not investigate complaints where we are not able to achieve the outcome sought. Miss R has been clear with what she is hoping to achieve and unfortunately, this is not something our service would be able to help with. For this reason, we will not take her complaint any further.

25. We are sorry to learn of the events that led to Miss R to contact us and the difficulties she has faced. We recognise she has been through a challenging time and do not doubt the impact this has had and continues to have on her. We thank her for sharing the details of her complaint with us. We recognise our decision may be disappointing for Miss R, we regret any further upset this decision may cause her.

1. We have carefully considered Miss R’s complaint about Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). She complains about aspects of the care and treatment the Trust gave her in November and December 2022. We recognise how distressing Miss R’s experience has been and continues to be for her.

2. Having reviewed all the information provided by Miss R, we have decided not to consider the complaint further. This is because we do not consider we would be able to achieve the outcome she seeks.

3. We recognise this decision may be disappointing for Miss R. We explain the reasons for our decision below.