Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

3. Mr O complains that since 2019 the Trust has not given him ‘Step Four’ mental health therapy (a type of mental health therapy) when he needed it. He says the Trust did not listen to letters from his GP and consultants asking for therapy, because he does not fall into its priority category. He says it treated him differently because he wants to be seen in person. He says the Trust added six months to his waiting time for therapy.

4. He says not having therapy for three years has been emotionally and psychologically damaging, it affected his relationship with his family, and destroyed his life. He says because of this, he stopped working and gets benefits, which has had a financial impact. He feels let down and unsupported by the Trust.

5. Mr O wants compensation.

6. Mr O’s GP referred him to the Trust in 2018 for help with his mental health. The Trust gave him six sessions with a psychological well-being practitioner (someone who supports people with their mental health) and 20 sessions with a high intensity therapist. The Trust decided Mr O needed ‘Step Four’ therapy and added him to the waiting list for this treatment in May 2019. He has still not received this therapy.

9. 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.

10. Mr O told us he feels the Trust has broken its duty of care to him and it has been negligent. He wants compensation of at least £10,000.

11. We explained to Mr O that we do not deal with clinical negligence claims as this is a type of legal action. We explained we can recommend compensation if we find failings in care, but it may be best to get legal advice about making a clinical negligence claim first.

12. A court makes decisions on clinical negligence and can award high levels of compensation. The time limits for taking legal action are strict. It is important for Mr O to look into this while he has time, to give him the best chance of getting the compensation he wants.

13. Mr O told us he got some advice from his union solicitor, but they said they could not take on his case as clinical negligence would be difficult to prove. We think it is reasonable for Mr O to explore taking legal action more fully.

14. If Mr O finds he is unable to take legal action, he can bring his complaint back to us and we can look at it again. We would need to carefully look at the outcome of any legal enquiries and what Mr O is looking for.

15. We understand Mr O’s experience has caused him a lot of distress and has affected his life. We hope this statement clearly explains our decision.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Mr O’s complaint about Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We are sorry to hear about the experience Mr O had, and the challenges he now faces. We recognise he has been through a distressing and painful time.

2. Mr O may be able to take legal action on the matter he has brought to us and for this reason, we are not investigating the complaint further. We are sorry for any distress this decision may cause. We hope our statement below explains how we have reached this decision.