I want the Health Ombudsman to reconsider their decision and to agree to reopen the investigation of (case ref C2079247).

After several years of bad practice, negligence, appalling care and treatment and abuse from Health Services, Home Based Treatment, Crisis Teams, Community Psychiatric Nurses, Psychiatrists, management and multiple staff. Multiple failings which resulted in my brother been detained in hospital indefinitely which caused him to lose his home and become homeless, whilst services failing to provide adequate bed provision for his level of needs due to them closing ward after ward, which resulted in my brother been transferred to 6 hospitals, 7 wards, 5 localities, 3 Health Trusts, 9 psychiatrists, multiple Social Workers and staff etc and placed 150 miles from home. During which his prescribed medication was not only changed 18 times, but was also mis-prescribed on multiple occasions, with multiple severe side effects some of which were life threatening and cause relapses. He was repeatedly restrained and forced injections which resulted in seclusion and banned ward leaves, torment and trauma. On several wards he was also assaulted multiple times from other patients and threatened with a knife on one occasion. He also sustained a broke arm and an endless list of bad practice, abuse and negligence which all eventually resulted in his death. 

I myself as his carer was also met with abuse, negligence, manipulation, slander and lies from multiple staff members and was also assaulted twice and sustained broken ribs and trauma, whilst staff ran away. These same services were also awarded outstanding services status by the Care Quality Commission who themselves ignored my questioning of this.

Between Jan 2013 to Dec 2014 there were around 248 complaint which took several years to go through the complaints procedure and then submitted to the Health Ombudsman in Jan 2016. It then took the Ombudsman a disgraceful 18 month to produce their first scope response and another 9 month for their second response on the 24 April 2018 shortly after my brothers death on 20 April 2018. I asked the Ombudsman if they were still able to investigate the complaints now there was an inquest into the death of my brother. They said they were unsure and would get back to me. Four weeks later around the end of May they said they were able to continue with the investigation. Whilst mourning the death of my brother and dealing with meetings with Solicitors, the Coroner, Social Services, the Police, my GP, MP, the DWP, etc, I was also having to respond to the 248 complaints to the Health Ombudsman. The Ombudsman were made aware of my difficult circumstances and had agreed to extend my response time, though out of the blue in July 2018 they pulled the plug on the investigation claiming I had taken to long to respond. I was then forced to take legal action and request a Judicial Review which fortunately I won and the Ombudsman were forced to reopen the investigation. 

Then in February 2019 the Health Ombudsman acknowledged receipt of the submission of an additional 604 complaints in regards to bad practice and negligence which had occurred between Dec 2014 and Jan 2017. A case worker was eventually assigned and then several months later the case worker decided that given these 604 complaints carried on from the previous 248 complains and classed it as a continuation of care, so they decided to hand the complaints over to the case worker who was already working on the initial 248 complaints. 

It then took a long while for the assigned case worker to respond stating they were struggling to work out a scope of investigation and asked which complaints did I want investigating? I explained all the complaints that are outlined in my initial request. 

Then over the course of the following year or so I received several updates each stating they were still working on a scope and would forward it to me by a certain date which was continuously changed time and time again and never met. 

Then on 21 September 2021 they wrote to me asking why had I taken several months to submit these complaints to the Ombudsman? I responded with a lengthy explanation some of which was already explained in my initial submission. 

Then several months later on 24 Jan 2022 they responded stating they were no longer willing to investigate these complaints. 

It is quite evident that the Ombudsman had initially agreed to investigate the 604 complaints submitted, though 3 years later they suddenly decide they are no longer willing to investigate and stated: “We acknowledge this will be disappointing and we fully recognise the distress your brother’s death caused you, and continues to cause you”. 

I want the Health Ombudsman to reconsider their decision and to agree to reopen the investigation of (case ref C2079247).