Summary

Mr X complains the Council failed to include appropriate day time support in his support plan.

The Complaint

Mr X considers the support plan in place does not include assessed needs from a specialist assessment completed in February 2016.

Mr X feels the Council has failed to understand his specific needs and it does not communicate with him appropriately taking these needs into account.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

To remedy the injustice caused, the council should, within three months: 

• pay Mr X £750 to recognise the time and trouble he was put to when pursuing his complaint and the distress caused by the Council’s failure to meet his eligible assessed needs; and
• pay Mr X’s mother £350 to reflect the time trouble and distress the lack of care caused her; and 
• to remedy the injustice caused by the failure to meet Mr X’s daytime support needs, the Council should refund the sum Mr X and his parents paid to source care privately (less the support they arranged for daytime sleep which was not an assessed need). This was £17,344; and
• use an independent assessor to carry out a re-assessment of Mr X’s needs; and
• ensure its social workers receive training to enable them to conduct assessments on individuals like Mr X who are deaf and have other complex needs within three months of the date of our report.

The Council should also continue to meet the cost of Mr X’s daytime and night time care needs until a reassessment is carried out/Mr X’s needs change.

Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 4 July 2018.

 

Print this page