Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (19 009 651)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 16-Mar-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains about the quality of care her father received, decisions the Council made about who provided that care, and that the Council handled her complaint poorly. She says the poor care caused her father, Mr D, unnecessary distress. The Ombudsman finds fault for the quality of care on one occasion. This caused Mr D injustice. The Council will apologise, make a payment to reflect the injustice, and undertake a service improvement. The Ombudsman does not find fault with the Council for the other parts of the complaint.

Norfolk County Council (19 009 941)

Statement Not upheld Assessment and care plan 16-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman has discontinued its investigation into Mrs R’s complaint. Norfolk County Council has referred Mrs R to the Office of the Public Guardian with concerns about her acting as her son’s lasting power of attorney. I cannot say Mrs R is a suitable representative for her son.

Hampshire County Council (19 013 243)

Statement Not upheld Assessment and care plan 16-Mar-2020

Summary: Mrs B complains about the care her aunt received at a care home. The Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) has decided to carry out a full Safeguarding Adults Review into the aunt’s case. The SAB is better placed to carry out this review than the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman has therefore discontinued its investigation.

North Lincolnshire Council (18 013 579)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 13-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsmen find fault by the Trust, in that it sent Mr M’s follow-up appointment letters to the wrong address and as a result he was discharged from follow-up care. This meant Mr M did not have the opportunity to discuss his care with a specialist. However the Ombudsmen find it was reasonable of the Trust and Council not to refer Mr M for continuing healthcare, and that he was provided with stroke rehabilitation in line with the relevant standards and guidance.

London Borough of Harrow (19 011 309)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 13-Mar-2020

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to provide clear information and guidance about the adult social care assessment process after she asked for support for her adult son, Mr Y. She said the Council also delayed in giving Mr Y support from the correct service. The Ombudsman finds the Council was at fault. The Council has agreed to pay Mrs X £200 for the avoidable distress caused by the fault. That remedies the injustice caused. The Council has agreed to review what information it provides to people accessing adult social care for autism support.

Essex County Council (19 018 254)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Assessment and care plan 13-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s decision in November 2018 to treat his mother as having notional capital, when it decided she purposely deprived herself of assets to avoid paying for her care. We will not investigate this late complaint. There is not a good reason Mr X did not complain to us within 12 months of that decision and we could not now come to a fair or sound conclusion.

Durham County Council (18 018 109)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 12-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr J complains about the way the Council calculated the personal budget to meet his care and support needs. The Ombudsman has found fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise and reimburse Mr J for the costs of meeting his eligible care and support needs.

Suffolk County Council (19 006 209)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 11-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to complete the remedy agreed on a previously upheld Ombudsman complaint. There is no fault by the Council in respect of three of the outstanding elements. In respect of the other issue, the Council did not properly explain its position to Mr X which is fault. It should now take action to rectify this and invite Mr X to request a new care assessment if he is ready to engage with the assessment process.

Oxfordshire County Council (19 008 008)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 11-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X complained about the way the Council handled his brother’s discharge from hospital and then handled his complaint. The Ombudsman finds there was some fault in the way the Council handled the discharge, but the Council has already provided an appropriate remedy. There was no fault with the Council’s complaints procedure.

Salford City Council (19 016 857)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Assessment and care plan 11-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement in an assessment for Continuing Healthcare funding. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is better placed to consider the complaint.