Worcestershire County Council (21 016 064)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Assessment and care plan 31-Mar-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to fund respite care for Mr X. That is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant further investigation.

Brighton & Hove City Council (21 017 269)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Assessment and care plan 31-Mar-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council assessed Ms X's care and support needs. That is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant further investigation.

Bedford Borough Council (20 007 526)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 30-Mar-2022

Summary: Ms X complains that she was billed for care that she did not receive and was not supported against financial abuse. There was fault by the Council because it did not include any contingency plan in Ms X’s care plan. The Council agreed a financial remedy to reflect the injustice caused to Ms X.

Somerset County Council (21 012 902)

Statement Not upheld Assessment and care plan 30-Mar-2022

Summary: There was no fault in the way the Council carried out social care assessments for Mr and Mrs X.

Luton Borough Council (21 004 603)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 30-Mar-2022

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council and the CCG failed to pay her sister’s, Miss C’s, charges for accommodation for a period when she was entitled to free aftercare under the Mental Health Act 1983 since 2017. She also complained that Miss C remained in an unsuitable placement with unmet needs for almost two years. Mrs B said the Trust failed to provide her sister with enough mental health support and when acting on behalf of the Council and the CCG. She said the alleged faults had adverse impact on her sister’s wellbeing and caused Mrs B avoidable distress. We found fault by the Council and the CCG in the way they stopped paying for accommodation which should have been provided without charge. This led to Mrs B having to support her sister with financial matters and this could have been avoided. Delays by the Trust led to Miss C remaining in an unsuitable placement for longer than she should have reasonably expected without enough mental health support in place. This is likely to have impacted on her wellbeing. To remedy the injustice the authorities agreed to our recommendations and will apologise to Miss C and Mrs B in writing and make acknowledgement payments. They will review their policies and procedures to ensure they are in line with relevant law and good practice. They will also ensure their staff act in accordance with legislation and established good practice.

Durham County Council (21 007 640)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 29-Mar-2022

Summary: Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust clearly communicated Mr P’s dementia diagnosis but did not develop a care and support plan for him. We also consider Durham County Council’s poor communication with Mr P’s wife, Mrs P, about his care and support leaves her uncertain if Mr P would have received different care and support before he died.

Plymouth City Council (20 008 325)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 29-Mar-2022

Summary: There was fault as there was a delay in the Council providing Ms C’s parents with Ms C’s care plan to address the risks/need that it had identified and a delay in providing the mental capacity assessment. The documents were also not fully completed and not always clear. The Council has agreed to apologise, to carry out a review assessment and provide an updated care plan and to pay £300.

London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (21 016 214)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 28-Mar-2022

Summary: The investigation into this complaint is discontinued. The Council acknowledged fault in the way it dealt with requests for social care support for Mr Y, apologised and took steps to remedy the situation before the complaint came to this office. Any further investigation by this office could not achieve more.

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (21 008 009)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 27-Mar-2022

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed assessing her care needs and completing a financial assessment. There was no fault in the way the Council assessed Mrs X’s care needs or completed her financial assessment. The Council delayed sorting out Mrs X’s payments and respite and failed to clearly explain why it would not pay her privately employed personal assistant to support her. It has since credited the backdated payments to Mrs X, although it failed to tell her it had done so. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X, pay her £150 to acknowledge the frustration the delays caused and to explain how the backdated payments have been credited to her account.

Devon County Council (21 006 241)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 27-Mar-2022

Summary: Mrs F complains on behalf her mother (Mrs Z) who is a long term carer. Mrs F says the Council found Mrs Z was eligible for a break from her caring responsibilities and agreed to make arrangements to meet this through a direct payment. However, the Council later cancelled the payment when it assessed Mrs Z could pay for the support herself. At this stage, we found the Council was at fault for carrying out a financial assessment to identify whether Mrs Z should meet her own care and support costs. This is because Mrs Z’s needs arose from her responsibilities as a carer. The Council should instead have undertaken a carers assessment. This caused Mrs Z an injustice because she had to meet the costs of taking a break from caring herself. We have therefore recommended a remedy.