Legal News

The National Autistic Society (NAS) has said that serious systemic failings in mental health services for children and young people in Cumbria are putting patients at a higher risk of self-harm and suicide.

The Guardian reports that the NAS is calling on health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to conduct “an urgent inspection”.

The NAS has also appealed to NHS England to review commissioning arrangements in England.

It is reported that the NAS has said it has “lost faith” in the ability of the Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust to resolve problems – including long waiting times for appointments, complaints over the scheduling of follow-ups and problems for families trying to access help when young mental health patients are in crisis.

The NAS says it is calling on the CQC to intervene, after “three years of dissatisfaction” among patients’ families – with “no sign of improvement”.

Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust said it had 1,878 open cases – and expressed disappointment that the NAS had gone public about ongoing issues.

The Trust said it accepted waiting times were “unacceptably long”, however.
Local teams are now fully staffed, the trust added – except for psychiatric specialists, where vacancies are being covered by locums.

In 2014, a coroner condemned the “sorry picture” of services for young people in the area, at an inquest into the death of a 15-year-old schoolgirl who died in 2013.

The local branch of state-funded consumer watchdog Healthwatch England has also raised concerns.

In a letter to the head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, the NAS chief executive, Mark Lever says that it is concerned about the support the local service “offers to all children, not just those with autism”.

Mr Lever said that the local mental health service’s budget had been cut by £500,000 this year – despite “significant increases in demand”.

An Ofsted report into Cumbria’s children’s services published in May has also expressed concern that within a month of going into care, only around half of all children had received a health assessment – including an assessment of their mental health.

Chief executive of Healthwatch Cumbria, David Blacklock, said:

“We will continue to keep the situation under review – and will take further steps if we receive evidence to suggest that improvements are not being made quickly enough.

“We are aware that some of the challenges will take time to overcome, however.

“It really is very important that if people have further poor experiences that they share these with us.”

The CQC is to carry out a planned inspection of the Trust in November.

Cumbria Partnership trust said there had been an 100% increase in referrals to the service over the last year – with many referrals being inappropriate and around one-third not needing the specialist support the trust provides.

The government has recently announced that a further £143 million is to be spent on improving children's mental health services in England this year.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and can advise mental health patients on a wide range of issues – including access to NHS mental health services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors regularly visit NHS hospitals and police stations to advise on mental health law – and are available nationwide at short notice for hospital and police station appointments.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may be able to advise the nearest relative or carer of a mental health patient on a range of issues, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.

For expert legal advice on mental health law, call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.