Psychiatrist followed the required standards

What happened

Mr D's GP referred him to a psychiatrist for a report so that he could understand how to manage any future deterioration in Mr D's mental health.

The psychiatrist carried out a full examination and review of Mr D's history. She produced a report and sent it to the GP. Mr D was unhappy that there were factual inaccuracies in the report and opinions that he disagreed with. The psychiatrist acknowledged that she had made some errors of fact and revised the report. She noted that Mr D disagreed with some of her opinions and added a statement to his records to show his disagreement with what she had said.

Mr D complained that this did not go far enough. He said the report showed him to be a criminal, rather than focusing on his documented mental health problems. He said the report almost led to him being sent to prison.

What we found

We did not uphold the complaint. The psychiatrist followed the relevant standards. She carried out an appropriate assessment and relied on records from Mr D's medical file. When some of these were shown to contain errors she acted appropriately by amending her report. She also acted appropriately when she agreed to add a record of Mr D's disagreement with her opinions to his file.