Lousia Ovington independent investigation report ... - NHS North East

Chapter 2 – Evaluation of the health care and treatment of
Louisa Ovington
Introduction
CHAPTER 2 – EVALUATION OF THE HEALTH CARE AND TREATMENT OF
LOUISA OVINGTON
Louisa Ovington’s health care and treatment consisted of three strands: medical
treatment, psychological interventions and treatment for addictions. The medical
treatment was relatively straightforward: she presented with symptoms of psychosis
or depression and was treated, whether in hospital or in the community. The other
strands were more complex and, it seemed to the panel, were not perhaps accorded
the priority they should have had in considering her overall health and care.
Medical treatment
Louisa Ovington had very little contact with mental health services prior to her first
admission in 1995. The panel was not provided with any evidence to indicate that
she was involved with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), which
might have been expected given the extreme trauma which she had experienced.
The panel understands that social services were involved with her at some points
during her youth, but the records were unavailable. It seems that she was helped
and supported mainly by family members.
Louisa Ovington’s first formal psychiatric assessment took place in 1993 when she was
assessed by Consultant 1, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, who concluded that
Louisa Ovington was not suffering from any specific mental disorder and, in particular,
that she was not suffering from a conduct disorder. On the basis of the information
available to Consultant 1 at that time, this appears to have been a not unreasonable
conclusion for her to have drawn.
Between December 1995 and March 1997, Louisa Ovington was admitted to
Hartlepool General Hospital psychiatric wards three times. She was suffering from
psychotic episodes.
The first admission lasted three months and during this time the medical and nursing
teams appropriately managed Louisa Ovington, including referring her for an
assessment by a child and adolescent psychiatrist, transferring her to a PICU when
her behaviour became unmanageable and using the Mental Health Act to detain her
when necessary. She was properly assessed during the admission, with appropriate
investigations being carried out. Whilst the clinical team concluded that Louisa
Ovington was suffering from a drug induced psychosis, it appears that rightly they did
not rule out the possibility that she was suffering from a more severe and long lasting
illness and that they considered whether she was suffering from a conduct disorder.
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