NHS 'corrected mistakes' after son's suicide

An NHS trust has been accused of adding to the records of a man the day after he took his own life to "correct their mistakes".

Charles Ndhlovu, 33, died under the care of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) in 2017.

Mr Ndhlovu, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and substance misuse, had been under CPFT's care two months when he died.

He had been transferred from a neighbouring trust after moving to Ely and then been taken off a community treatment order.

His mother, Angelina Pattison, told the BBC that despite being heavily involved in her son's care, she was "shocked that they transferred him without even telling me".

A trust serious untoward incident (SUI) review acknowledged that when he was transferred no-one from CPFT had asked about whether his family had been involved in his care.

Ms Pattison said: "They didn't have any address of [my home] in his care plan and the care plan was done when he died - when they were running around to correct their mistakes, which they have done"

The BBC has separately spoken to consultant nurse and psychotherapist Des McVey, who was asked by the trust to investigate a complaint in July 2021, understood to be the one from Ms Pattison.

Mr McVey said: "I noticed that the deceased did have care plans, but they were written the day after his death and they were also evaluated the day after his death and I was concerned that this wasn't picked up by the SUI."

He said this "really alarmed me", adding: "Surprisingly, there was no care plan to address his suicidal ideation and he had... an extensive history of trying to kill himself."

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Source: BBC News, 15 June 2023

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