Sheffield City Council (19 015 370)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 08-Mar-2021

Summary: The Ombudsmen find there was an extensive avoidable delay in the Council assessing two young adults’ needs and producing a support plan for their care at home. This situation caused their mother significant avoidable stress which is an injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to recognise the injustice and to take steps to learn from the case and prevent recurrences.

Birmingham City Council (19 017 957)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 08-Mar-2021

Summary: Miss D complained about her contact with the Council about any adult social care support to which she may be entitled. She considered the Council did not provide the support she needed, was not clear in its explanations and did not handle her complaints properly. There was some fault by the Council but it did not cause significant injustice to Miss D.

Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council (19 016 196)

Statement Not upheld Assessment and care plan 05-Mar-2021

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to carry out a proper care needs assessment and other related issues. We have found the Council was not at fault.

Warwickshire County Council (19 021 026)

Statement Not upheld Assessment and care plan 05-Mar-2021

Summary: Mrs C complains about the way the Council provided information about her son’s care costs before he moved to supported living accommodation. Mrs C says her son faced an unexpected and large increase in his outgoings which caused him significant upset and contributed to a suicide attempt which has caused long-term damage to his health. We have found no evidence of fault by the Council.

Coventry City Council (20 010 300)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Assessment and care plan 04-Mar-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about care and support given to her mother, Mrs C. This is because we could not add to the Council’s responses or make a different finding of the kind Mrs B wants. We do not have written consent from Mrs C to consider a complaint from Mrs B on her behalf.

Lancashire County Council (19 009 821)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 01-Mar-2021

Summary: Mr X complained the Council reassessed his care needs and reduced his personal budget. The Council was not at fault for the way in which it assessed Mr X’s needs. It was at fault for allowing the situation to drift when Mr X refused to cooperate in developing a revised support plan. This did not cause Mr X an injustice as his personal budget was not reduced.

Cumbria County Council (19 009 173)

Statement Not upheld Assessment and care plan 26-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to assess, or review, his, his wife’s or adult son’s social care needs. The Council was not at fault in the way it offered to assess their needs.

Kent County Council (20 005 238)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 26-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr B complained the Council reduced the number of hours his son, C was entitled to on his care plan without proper consultation. Mr B says the actions of the Council have led to C becoming withdrawn and depressed and has had a harmful effect on his health. We find fault with the Council’s handling and implementation of reducing C’s agreed care hours. An injustice has been caused to both C and Mr B. To remedy the injustice the Council has agreed to apologise to C and Mr B, pay a financial remedy to both of them, review and reinstate C’s care and support hours and learn from this complaint. The Council has also agreed to review all other cases affected by similar fault.

London Borough of Lewisham (19 014 970)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 25-Feb-2021

Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s actions regarding a financial assessment relating to her care provision. She says the Council did not make appropriate reasonable adjustments to take her disabilities into account and incorrectly calculated her financial contributions. Ms X says the Council’s actions led to delays in the process and caused her unnecessary distress and confusion. We find some fault in this matter and the Council has agreed a remedy to address the injustice to Ms X.

East Sussex County Council (19 007 535)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 23-Feb-2021

Summary: The complainant, Mrs C, says the Council and the Trust failed to provide her late father, Mr J, with sufficient occupational health equipment and physiotherapy to enable him to achieve his potential for rehabilitation. She also said the lack of care planning and therapy had an adverse impact on her mother’s caring role and left her with out-of-pocket expenses. We found the Trust was at fault in the way it decided to reprioritise a referral from a doctor, and this led to a delay in physiotherapy being provided. The Council took too long to provide equipment better suited to Mr J’s needs. The Council and the Trust have agreed to our recommendations and will apologise in writing to Mrs C’s mother, make an acknowledgement payment in recognition of the injustice caused and act to improve the response to referrals and record-keeping.