Independent investigation into the care and treatment of AP
NHS London commissioned Verita to carry out an independent investigation into the care and treatment of a young woman who stabbed and killed her former boyfriend. The next day she stabbed and killed her great-grandmother before setting fire to her maternal grandmother's house. In the two years leading up to the homicides, AP had been in contact with a number of NHS organisations and other statutory and voluntary organisations across London. The investigation evaluated the care she received from both primary and secondary mental health services. It highlighted issues relating to communication between organisations; the quality of care provided by GPs and issues around the engagement of locum GPs; the need to take a longitudinal view of a patient's history when assessing risk; and discharge arrangements for patients with serious risk indicators whose assessments are incomplete. The report identified some good progress by the local primary care trust and the mental health trust in developing care pathways to improve the interface between primary and secondary mental health services.
