Provision of care for elderly man

Archived press release

Date Published: 26/09/08

Hillingdon Council failed to consider the wishes of an elderly man and his family when placing him in a residential home after his discharge from hospital.

There were serious flaws in Hillingdon Council’s care provision for an elderly man after the death of his wife, finds Local Government Ombudsman, Tony Redmond. In his report, issued today (26 September 2008) he finds the Council failed to consider the man’s wishes when placing him in a residential home, and says “Councils have no right to disregard a client’s wishes in this manner.”

‘Mrs Davey’ (not her real name for legal reasons) complains that the Council failed to deal properly with the care needs of her father-in-law, ‘Mr Davey’.

Mr Davey received a home care package from the Council, but there were concerns about the quality of care he received from one of the agencies that the Council used. The Council failed to ensure that the agency was complying with the care plan.

Mr Davey was then admitted to hospital. On his discharge, the Council failed to undertake a proper assessment of his needs, and he was placed in a residential home against both his and his family’s wishes. The Ombudsman said: “I consider the lack of a proper discharge assessment, and the failure to carry out a further assessment as agreed in early December 2006, was maladministration and that this, and the Council’s dismissive attitude to the family, has caused unnecessary and avoidable distress. 

While Mr Davey was in the home, the Council assessed him as a permanent rather than temporary resident, and consequently made excessive charges.

The Ombudsman finds maladministration causing injustice and the Council has agreed to:

• improve its monitoring of home care packages;
• improve its assessments of residents on discharge from hospital;
• refund the excessive residential care charges of £11,800.64 levied on the basis that Mr Davey was a permanent rather than temporary resident; and
• pay compensation of £600 to Mr Davey and £200 to his family for the avoidable distress and inconvenience caused, and £250 to Mrs Davey for her time and trouble in pursuing this complaint.

Report ref 07A01436