London Borough of Lewisham (16 003 985)

Category : Children's care services > Other

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 08 Aug 2017

Summary

Mrs B complains the council reduced the care it would provide for her two sons (C and D), who have autism and special educational needs, without involving her in the decision making process properly.

The complaint

Mrs B complains the council failed to complete the assessment it started to carry out in January 2016 of her two sons. She also complains the council failed to provide her with copies of the assessment, her sons’ care plans, and wrongly decided to reduce their care package.

Mrs B also complains the council failed to deal with her complaint promptly.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

To remedy the injustice caused, we recommend the council:

  • apologise to Mrs B for the time taken to deal with her complaint and for the fault found with the way it dealt with the assessment.
  • pays Mrs B £400 for the avoidable distress caused by its failures and £150 for the effort she was put to pursuing this complaint, which the Council failed to deal with properly.

The council should also ensure greater transparency in the Care Package Panel decision making process by sharing assessments with all parties before the panel meets. The Care Package Panel needs to give written reasons for its decisions.

The council should approach the respite provider to clarify if D would have been offered a place had his name remained on the waiting list. It should then arrange for him to receive two overnight stays for each month missed over the next 12 months.

The council should also start a review of the operation of its procedures for identifying and dealing with complaints involving children and young people to ensure it meets its statutory duties.

Ombudsman satisfied with council's response: 26 January 2018.

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