Child's 'unreasonable discharge' from NHS Ayrshire & Arran mental health support is rejected

Claims that a child was “unreasonably discharged” from an important mental health support service at NHS Ayrshire and Arran have been rejected by a public services scrutiny body.

The claims stem from a complaint made to the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO) who this week published the findings from their investigation.The case centres around a child whose parent complained about the care and treatment they received from the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).In their specific complaint the child’s parent complained that their child was “unreasonably discharged from CAMHS.”Due to confidentiality reasons the parent was only referred to as ‘C’ and their child as ‘A’.An extract from the SPSO case said: “C complained to us on behalf of their child (A) about the care and treatment A received from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).“Specifically, C complained that A was unreasonably discharged from CAMHS.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now.Get all the local news in your area – plus features, football news and the latest on the coronavirus crisis – at your fingertips 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories while you can customise your page with the sections that matter to you.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now on iOS and Android.“We took independent advice from a child and adolescent psychologist and also from a mental health nurse.“We found that there was a delay in CAMHS offering ‘A’ video appointments following the COVID-19 lockdown but we found that the delay was not unreasonable, as they needed time to set up the necessary IT systems.“We also found that all relevant information was taken into account about A’s