Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

4. Mr L complains about aspects of care provided to him by the Trust. He complains despite his PTSD and ASD diagnoses, the Trust denied his request for a reassessment of his previous schizoaffective disorder diagnosis.

5. As a result of this, Mr L says he has suffered extreme distress which has impacted both his mental and physical health. He feels if his history of abuse, bullying and trauma had been properly considered by the Trust, it is probable that his initial reaction to stressors he came across in university would have been understood. He says this would have been done within the context of trauma-related disorders rather than psychotic disorders.

6. He says his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, later changed to schizoaffective disorder, remains incorrect and has profoundly impacted his life, employment prospects, and overall wellbeing. He says the failure to reassess his diagnosis he feels constitutes discrimination, which has led to unwarranted restrictions on his daily life, employment opportunities, and ability to drive.

7. As an outcome to his complaint Mr L would like an acknowledgment of failings, an apology and a financial remedy of £12,500.

8. Another NHS trust previously diagnosed Mr L with paranoid schizophrenia which was then changed to schizoaffective disorder at the same trust.

9. In 2018 Mr L was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and in 2020 he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

10. At the end of January 2025, Mr L was referred by his GP to the Trust regarding a retrospective paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis.

11. In February 2025, the Trust declined the referral as the request for diagnostic assessment could not be met. It said there was no specific provision within the Trust to solely review a mental health diagnosis. The Trust did not reassess Mr L’s diagnosis.

14. Before we decide if we should conduct a detailed investigation of a complaint, we look at whether there are signs the organisation has got something wrong. We do this by comparing what should have happened with what did happen. We have done this and have not seen any indication that something has gone wrong. We have explained our decision below.

15. Mr L complains the Trust denied his request for a reassessment of his previous schizoaffective disorder diagnosis after his GP referred him to the Trust in January 2025. We understand why Mr L sought a reassessment. He believes his earlier diagnosis may not fully reflect the impact of trauma and other conditions that were identified later, and he feels the diagnosis continues to affect important areas of his life. We have therefore considered carefully whether the Trust should have carried out the reassessment he was referred for.

16. The information we reviewed shows that the role of the Community Mental Health Team is to assess and support people who have current mental health needs. The Trust's policy describes services such as assessment, care planning, treatment and risk monitoring, rather than reviewing historic diagnoses where there are no current mental health concerns.

17. We also considered professional guidance from the General Medical Council. This guidance says healthcare professionals should prioritise patients according to clinical need and explain clearly why a requested option is not available.

18. The referral Mr L’s GP sent to the Trust in January 2025 says Mr L was asking for his previous diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia to be removed as it was impacting his DVLA application. The referral request states that Mr L currently had no mental health symptoms.

19. The Trust discussed this referral with an Operational Lead and concluded that there was no specific provision within the Trust solely for reviewing a mental health diagnosis. It advised the GP that as Mr L did not currently have mental health needs and so did not meet the criteria for an assessment.

20. The Trust advised if Mr L’s presentation and mental health risks changed they would welcome a re-referral. It appears that a later referral in June 2025 which did outline mental health needs was accepted by the Trust.

21. We think the Trust’s decision not to accept Mr L’s referral in January 2025 appears to be in line with guidelines. The Trust’s operational policy outlines the function of the CMHT, which does not include reviewing past mental health diagnoses. The purpose of the CMHT is to assess and treat current mental health symptoms.

22. We can see that the Trust explained its reasons for rejecting the referral. The Trust explained that as Mr L did not present with mental health symptoms at that time, he did not meet the Trust’s criteria for assessment. We think this is in line with the GMC guidelines.

23. We understand Mr L felt frustrated and discriminated against when the Trust rejected the referral. We recognise that being told a referral will not be accepted may feel unfair, particularly when someone believes an existing diagnosis continues to affect their daily life.

24. The information available to us indicates the referral was declined because the Trust considered Mr L did not have current mental health needs requiring assessment by the Community Mental Health Team. We have therefore seen no indication the Trust did anything wrong. We hope we have explained why we will not be considering his complaint further.

1. We have carefully considered Mr L’s complaint about Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). We recognise that Mr L feels his diagnosis has had a profound impact on many aspects of his life, including his wellbeing, employment opportunities and ability to drive. We are sorry to learn of the distress, frustration and worry this situation has caused him.

2. We have not seen an indication of a failing when the Trust rejected Mr L’s referral to the community mental health team.

3. Because of the reasons set out above, we have decided not to take further action on Mr L’s complaint. We recognise the importance of these matters for Mr L. We hope our explanation below provides him with some reassurance.