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Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council (02C17068)

Adult social care         Maladministration causing injustice

30 November 2004

‘Mrs Jefferson’s son ‘Andrew Taylor’ (not their real names for legal reasons) had epilepsy and Fragile X Syndrome and required ongoing support from the Council. Mrs Jefferson complained that: following a finding of the Mental Health Tribunal in February 2002 that Mr Taylor (then aged 18) should be transferred out of a secure adult psychiatric ward to an appropriate placement as soon as possible, the Council failed for more than a year to provide a suitable placement; and the Council did not deal with her formal complaint made on 19 November 2002 in accordance with the time limits set out in the social services statutory complaints procedure.

She claimed that there were no facilities in the hospital for patients with a learning disability, staff were not familiar with the needs of people with an autistic spectrum disorder, her son was constantly heavily sedated and his right to liberty was violated.

The investigation uncovered a catalogue of errors. The Council had failed to assess Mr Taylor’s needs properly in accordance with the requirements of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 and had failed to prepare him for return to the community from residential school. The Council had set up a special project to house Mr Taylor and three other young people but had allowed insufficient lead time for its establishment so it was not ready when the school asked the Council to place Mr Taylor elsewhere. Within days of leaving school Mr Taylor was sectioned because of his behaviour and, because of the Council’s refusal to fund a placement that would have met his needs, he remained for 18 months in a locked adult psychiatric ward whose provision was totally unsuitable. Because it prioritised budgetary considerations over the legal requirement to meet Mr Taylor’s assessed needs, the Council wanted to place him in an establishment to which it knew his family were opposed, prolonging his detention in hospital. Only when another manager became involved did the Council begin to work in partnership with Mr Taylor and his family, and the fact that Mr Taylor is now successfully placed in the community was due to her intervention and to the skill of the establishment to which he was then introduced.

The Council acknowledged that it and other agencies made mistakes in dealing with Mr Taylor and it assured the Ombudsman that it had made many changes in the way services were provided to people like Mr Taylor who have complex needs.

Remedy

The Ombudsman found maladministration causing injustice and the Council agreed to:

  • pay Mrs Jefferson the sum of £10,000
  • pay Mrs Jefferson £20,000 to be administered by her for her son’s benefit, and
  • review its procedures for considering placements in the independent sector to ensure that a determination to keep costs to a minimum does not lead it to make unlawful decisions by failing to meet assessed need.

Remedy agreed with Council prior to publication: 30 November 2004

Date Updated: 09/01/12