Bury Metropolitan Borough Council (18 015 876)

Statement Upheld Charging 26-Jun-2019

Summary: Mr X complains the Council has failed to take responsibility for his mother’s (Mrs Y’s) care and support needs. He also complains he was given poor legal advice. He says this has led to financial difficulties, uncertainty and distress. The Council is at fault. The Council is currently responsible for Mrs Y’s care and support. It has agreed to write to all those involved to clarify its position, apologise to Mr X and pay him £500 to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty caused. It has also agreed to work with Mr X to agree the support required to meet Mrs Y’s needs and provide agreed support in line with the law and its policies. It will also provide guidance for staff. There is no evidence of fault in the legal advice it provided Mr X.

North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (18 013 427)

Statement Upheld Charging 26-Jun-2019

Summary: There was fault by the Council as it delayed carrying out a financial and care assessment for one and a half years. Mr B, an adult with considerable care needs, remained in his placement and so there was no direct injustice to him. The Council has offered to waive the return of an overpayment, reduce the financial contribution and fund the cost of day care until the date of the financial assessment. The Council has also offered to recalculate the date Mr B became eligible for help with care costs as new accounts have been supplied.

Cornwall Council (18 007 799)

Statement Upheld Charging 25-Jun-2019

Summary: There was fault in the way the Council assessed Ms B’s needs for care and support and in the way it decided that it did not have to provide her with support. The Council has agreed to apologise to the family, carry out a financial assessment of Ms B and, depending on the outcome of the assessment, repay Ms B’s estate any money it owes.

Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (18 012 402)

Statement Not upheld Charging 25-Jun-2019

Summary: There is no evidence that shows Council told Mr X that Mrs Y would receive a period of free reablement care. Mrs Y was not a suitable candidate for such care and Mr X was informed Mrs Y would have a financial assessment and depending on the outcome, would have to contribute towards her care.

Staffordshire County Council (18 014 144)

Statement Upheld Charging 24-Jun-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has failed to deal properly with the additional (top-up) charges for her mother’s care home placement. The Council’s only fault has been to require top-up payments and assessed charges to be paid directly to care providers. Although this did not cause injustice to Mrs X, the Council needs to bring its practices into line with the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.

Staffordshire County Council (18 014 855)

Statement Upheld Charging 24-Jun-2019

Summary: Mrs P complains the Council failed to deal properly with the charges for her late mother’s care home. The Council was wrong to get the care home to collect the mother’s assessed weekly charge. This enabled the care home to make additional charges for which there was no justification. The Council needs to pay financial redress for the distress caused and bring its working practices into line with the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.

Poole Borough Council (18 015 283)

Statement Upheld Charging 24-Jun-2019

Summary: There was fault in the way the Council assessed Mr B’s finances when he went into a care home. The Ombudsman has recommended the Council apologises and re-assesses Mr B’s finances from May 2017.

Mr Paul Bliss aka Optima Care Partnership (19 002 259)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 24-Jun-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s late complaint about his mother’s, Mrs B’s, care provider charging for her care in 2016. This is because Mr A could have come to the Ombudsman sooner if he was unhappy with the charges and it would be reasonable for him to defend any charges, he believes Mrs B is not responsible for in court. There is no good reason for the Ombudsman to disapply the law in this case.

Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council (18 006 219)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 21-Jun-2019

Summary: The Ombudsmen will not investigate her complaints about a council overcharging or the care provided to an elderly man by a council and NHS Trust. The complaints are late and there are insufficient grounds to accept them now.

North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (18 015 746)

Statement Upheld Charging 20-Jun-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of her care charges and financial assessment. Mrs X also complains the Council told her preferred care home there were issues with her behaviour. The Ombudsman does not find fault with the Council for sharing information about her behaviour with the care home. The Ombudsman does find fault with the Council for the delay in completing Mrs X’s financial assessment. The Council has agreed to reduce Mrs X’s care charges by £500.