Failings in care and support for a boy with autism

What happened

Mrs N was concerned about aspects of her son's behaviour at an early age. She saw her GP, who referred her son to a community child health clinic for an assessment about Asperger's syndrome.

The clinic put Mrs N's son on a waiting list to see a paediatrician at the Trust. The paediatrician arranged for various assessments to be carried out from different people, including the school, to consider possible autistic spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The paediatrician expected that it would take four months to properly assess Mrs N's son. However, the full assessment took place 29 months after the first referral. Following this, Mrs N's son was found to have an autistic spectrum disorder and dyslexia.

Mrs N complained to the Trust that the delay in diagnosis meant her son missed out on earlier intervention and left him without the support he needed. Mrs N said the whole experience had been stressful and upsetting and the poor handling of her complaint added to her distress. She was unhappy with the Trust's response and came to us.

What we found

The Trust's care and treatment fell below the required standard. We found that doctors should have assessed Mrs N's son sooner. They did not give enough weight to Mrs N's concerns and should have been clear about who was co-ordinating care.

We also found that the Trust did not deal with Mrs N's complaint promptly and sensitively and that it did not recognise its failings.

We did not find that there was any impact on the long‑term health of Mrs N's son, but we found that the failings led to his mother being distressed and worried. This was compounded by poor complaint handling.

Putting it right

The Trust apologised for its failings and the injustice to Mrs N. It also paid Mrs N £1,000 and produced an action plan to show that it had learned from the complaint.