Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman: Child unnecessarily restrained after Trust failed to monitor use of specialist seating

Summary

This complaint is about care and treatment the Western Health and Social Care Trust’s (the Trust) Paediatric Occupational Therapy department provided to the complainant’s child while in school between 2016 and March 2018.

The complainant raised concerns that the occupational therapist (OT) did not properly oversee the use of two specialist chairs she endorsed for the child for use at mealtimes. The complainant said that as a result, staff in the child’s school used the chairs to restrain him. The complainant was also concerned that the Trust failed to consider her complaint with adequate rigor and understanding. She also said the Trust’s handling of her complaint was unfair and inappropriate.

The investigation established failures in the child’s care and treatment regarding the occupational therapy he received in school.

Content

The Western Trust approved two special chairs for an autistic child to use in school without properly assessing his needs. The Trust should also have given the school clearer instructions on how the chairs were to be used.

Report recommendations

We asked the Trust to apologise to the child's mother for the failings.

We also asked it to explain to staff the importance of:

• assessing a child's occupational needs before prescribing a specialist chair
• creating and sharing with schools an individual photographic seating plan when prescribing a child a specialist chair
• creating and retaining accurate and legible records related to the care of patients.