Peterborough mental health patient given compensation over care

Peterborough City Council, based at Town Hall, was fined for failing in its duty of care

Health bosses have apologised to a man who experienced delays in arranging aftercare following his detention under the Mental Health Act.

The patient, who had severe autism and schizophrenia, was sectioned in December 2016.

The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman ordered the NHS and Peterborough council to pay the man and his father £600 in compensation.

The NHS said it wanted to "learn from errors".

Peterborough City Council said it had since arranged an aftercare meeting.

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The man, who also had learning and communication difficulties and was referred to as Mr X in a report by the ombudsman, was discharged in February 2017.

His carer, referred to as Mr Y, filed a complaint as he was not allocated a care co-ordinator after his release as required.

Review meetings which should have taken place annually stopped in 2019, the Local Democracy Reporting Service writes.

The ombudsman upheld a complaint from the carer in May 2022.

It found the NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board (ICB), the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), and the council were responsible for "shared failure".

A further complaint made in November 2023 found the ombudsman's findings were not acted on.

The three organisations were ordered to pay £100 each to both the man, and to his carer.

They were told to appoint a care co-ordinator and arrange an aftercare meeting within two months.

The ICB and CPFT offered their "sincere apologies to the individuals involved" and in a joint statement added: "We want to acknowledge and learn from errors where things have not gone the way they should have."

The council said a Section 117 review (aftercare meeting) had been completed and said: "We are actively working with our partners to resolve the appointment of a care co-ordinator".

A spokesperson said it apologised to the individuals for "any distress caused".