Background
Michael* had a stroke during the second lockdown and had issues with accessing care and treatment, when concerns were raised about his memory.
He was referred to the Dementia Assessment Service, following an assessment, which he passed
and there were no concerns about his memory, it was felt that his memory issues were connected to his stroke.
During the assessment it was brought to his attention that he might have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and an internal referral was made for an assessment.
A Confusing Journey
After a year’s wait Michael went to his local mental health clinic and following the assessment was told he was “not naughty enough at school” and he did not have ADHD.
Michael has two children one diagnosed with ADHD and the other with autism, for over sixty years he has had the feeling of being different and he had passed this onto his children and therefore did not feel this was the correct outcome for himself.
He requested a second opinion and was finally given a second assessment with a different psychiatrist four months later.
A Diagnosis Reversed Overnight
During that assessment he was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD and was given medication at the end of the assessment. Michael felt that the diagnosis was correct and was happy with the outcome.
The following day his world turned upside down, he received a call from the clinic asking him to attend an urgent appointment, which he felt very concerned about but returned to the clinic, he was seen by the same psychiatrist that had diagnosed him the day before.
The psychiatrist said that it was something different and he had been up all night thinking, something was not right, he told Michael he had changed his mind and that he did not have ADHD and not to take the medication and that the symptoms Michael had related to his dyslexia.
Seeking Support
Feeling so confused as to how one day he had ADHD and the next he did not, Michael approached his local IHCAS for support to make a complaint.
Once the letter was written and submitted to his local mental health trust, Michael could only just wait, but still feeling very confused with this situation, he went to his GP and requested a referral for a third assessment, using the Right to Choose system.
Early Resolution Meeting
The local mental health trust wanted early resolution to his complaint, and he was invited to attend an early resolution meeting with his advocate.
Questions were raised that the medical letter did not reflect the true events of the two appointments Michael had attended and that there was no mention of the medication that had been prescribed to him. Michael was offered a third assessment with a different team at the trust, and his medical letter would be updated to reflect what really had happened in both consultations.
However, Michael did not accept it mainly because he did not trust the local provider to be fully neutral after what had happened, so continued with the neutral route via right to choose.
Finally Receiving Answers
When Michael had the online assessment for ADHD, he was so surprised how different the assessment was and how in depth the questions were and the time taken was double the amount of time to the other assessments. The assessment was recorded and all Michael had to do was to wait for the outcome.
A few months later, not to his surprise, he was diagnosed with ADHD combined type – both inattentive and hyperactivity.
The Impact
Michael has really been affected by these events, his mental health has suffered, having to submit a complaint and attend a meeting, knowing that he did have ADHD, he just needed the diagnosis to be formally accepted.
Even when the updated medical letter was finally received it did not truly reflect what had happened in the two consultations.
The complaint was submitted to PHSO but did not meet their criteria to proceed further as they have a strict threshold for investigation.
Michael’s Feedback
Michael was pleased he received the diagnosis after three assessments and provided feedback to his advocate.
“My advocate and Healthwatch were absolutely amazing. In everything they tried to do for me and I realised I took a lot of their time because I’m ADHD and slower because of my stroke, so my advocate was amazingly patient and tried to help in every single way she could and I can’t thank her enough even though perhaps the result is not what I wanted. I know she gave her all, thank you.”