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

CHAPTER 4 – THE CARE PROGRAMME APPROACH (CPA)
On 12 December 1996 Louisa Ovington was admitted to Hartlepool General Hospital
and a ‘client centred care plan’ was drawn up on admission. She remained an
inpatient for four weeks and a care planning meeting was held on 20 December 1996.
She was discharged on 10 January 1997 after it was discovered she had been taking
illicit drugs and was followed up at outpatient clinics but was subsequently readmitted
to Hartlepool General Hospital on 6 March 1997 at the recommendation of her key
worker. She was in hospital for one night and she was discharged with community
follow up. At this time Louisa Ovington returned to Edinburgh and in her absence a
CPA meeting was held on 22 April 1997 attended by her great uncle, key worker and
CPA manager. It was at this meeting that her key worker announced she was leaving
and would need to be replaced.
From 20 May 1997 Louisa Ovington had a ten day inpatient stay at the Royal
Edinburgh Hospital. She had already been discharged from community services in
Hartlepool/Durham and the CPA manager wrote to Edinburgh Royal to let them
know this and that Louisa Ovington was on ‘Full CPA’ which appears to be the local
description of multidisciplinary CPA, the highest level.
Louisa Ovington returned to the north east in about June 1997 and resided with her
great uncle. Outpatient appointments were arranged in Edinburgh which she failed
to attend but she did attend outpatient appointments with Consultant 6 from July
to October 1997 and during this period she also saw CPN 1 as her key worker. There
was little subsequent health or social care involvement, CPN 1 having discharged her,
until May 1998, when she was assessed by Consultant 8 following a referral from Low
Newton prison. Consultant 8 reviewed her several times and she was admitted to the
Tony White Unit in Durham. While she remained there several care planning meetings
and reviews were held, including a Section 117 meeting. A mental health social
worker, Social Worker 1, had contact with Louisa Ovington throughout this period but
her role in terms of the CPA is unclear.
Transfer to a forensic unit in Newcastle (Cuthbert Ward, St Nicholas’ Hospital) took
place in January 1999 and she remained on ‘full CPA’. Several CPA / multidisciplinary
team meetings took place during her stay on Cuthbert Ward; numerous care plan
reviews were undertaken and she was visited by her social worker/key worker,
Social Worker 2, from the community team. Louisa Ovington was transferred on to
Kneesworth House in Hertfordshire on 16 August 1999.
Louisa Ovington remained at Kneesworth House until 12 January 2000 and during
her time there, meetings were held to devise and review care plans. Although there is
some evidence from the Durham records that there was communication between the
staff and Social Worker 2 the Kneesworth records contain no social work notes. A
CPA/Section 117 meeting was not held until 24 January 2000, twelve days after her
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