Essex County Council (05A00880)

Adult care services                      Maladministration causing injustice

16 January 2006

‘Mr and Mrs Bird’s son ‘John Bird’ (not their real names for legal reasons) had athetoid cerebral palsy. He was severely physically disabled and used a wheelchair, had speech and communication problems and a learning disability. Since 1999 he had a number of residential placements. Mr and Mrs Bird complained that the Council:

• failed to monitor the care given to him following a move to a new placement in 2001;
• failed to manage his move to another placement properly, placing him somewhere that could not meet his needs; and
• failed to deal with their complaints properly.

The Ombudsman upheld these complaints. As a result of the Council’s actions, John Bird’s needs were not met. Behaviour that was caused by physical problems, exacerbated by anxiety or stress, was wrongly thought to be aggressive behaviour, and there was a failure to consider the underlying causes, or identify his emotional needs. He suffered emotional harm, which has left him traumatised. The rest of the family suffered a great deal of distress, and disruption to their work and home life.

The Ombudsman found maladministration causing injustice and recommended that the Council:

• pay John Bird the sum of £5,000 to compensate him for the failure to meet his needs, and the harm this caused him;
• pay Mr and Mrs Bird the sum of £2,000 to compensate them for the distress and worry caused them and their family; and
• write to John Bird explaining the changes that had been made as a result of this complaint.

Date Published: 14/04/09