Leicestershire trust mishandled case

Mental health professionals failed to carry out an in-depth
assessment of a man with paranoid schizophrenia who went on to
decapitate his mother, states a report released last week.

An internal review into how Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
handled the case of Peter Andrews has found that “the delusional
system Andrews developed was not subject to in-depth assessment or
in-depth review”.

Andrews was detained indefinitely at a psychiatric unit last month
after Leicester Crown Court decided that he was unfit to stand
trial for the attempted murder of his 80-year-old mother – also
diagnosed with schizophrenia – in January 2003. She had died in her
sleep before Andrews’ attack.

He was the sole carer for his mother, but had a care worker who
visited on the day of the incident and reported Andrews had greeted
her in the usual manner.

The report recommends that, where someone has been diagnosed with
schizophrenia and has not been admitted to hospital within three
years, the need for further assessment should be considered.

Andrews, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1990, had been
dealt with by several consultants. Record-keeping by the community
mental health team was, according to the report, “brief, lacked
analysis and did not reflect the quality of the interventions
offered”.

Among its 20 recommendations, which are expected to be implemented
by December, is the need for the trust to appoint a single care
co-ordinator for cases where multiple members of a family have
needs, and to closely monitor the recruitment of
psychiatrists.

An independent review into the case will also be published later
this year.