London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (21 010 549)

Category : Adult care services > Assessment and care plan

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 04 May 2022

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Miss X complained about the support the Council provided when she was moving home. Miss X also complained the Council refused to carry out a review of her care plan. Miss X says this has affected her mental and physical health. We find fault with the Council for a delay in reviewing Miss X’s care plan, and for failing to properly co-ordinate during her move. We recommend the Council apologise to Miss X and make a payment for distress and uncertainty.

The complaint

  1. Miss X complains about the support she received during a house move. Miss X has said the Council failed to ensure the house was ready to move into and did not put utilities, meals, and other necessities in place. Miss X also complains the Council refused to carry out a new care assessment for her when requested. Miss X says this has affected her mental and physical health.

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What I have investigated

  1. I have investigated whether there was any fault with the way the Council handled Miss X’s request for a review of her care plan. I have also investigated whether the Council provided the right support in relation to Miss X’s house move.
  2. I have not investigated the issues that have arisen since Miss X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman. I also have not investigated aspects of the complaint that relate to the Council acting in the capacity of a social housing provider. I have explained why at the end of this decision.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
  2. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
  3. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
  4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)
  5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I spoke to Miss X about this complaint and have considered all the information she has provided. I have also considered the information the Council has provided. This includes:
    • Miss X’s care plan review from March 2021
    • The Council’s case notes from the time of the move
    • The Council’s chronology of events and actions from the time of the move
    • Emails between the Council and the Meals on Wheels provider
  2. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Care Act 2014 and statutory guidance

  1. Section 9 of The Care Act 2014 explains a council must carry out an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support.
  2. If a council decides a person is eligible for care, it should prepare a care and support plan which specifies the needs identified in the assessment, says whether and to what extent the needs meet the eligibility criteria and specifies the needs the council is going to meet and how this will be done.
  3. Statutory guidance explains a council should review a care and support plan at least every year, on a reasonable request, or in response to a change in circumstances. The purpose of a review is to see how a care and support plan has been working and to decide if any revisions need to be made.

What happened

  1. Miss X is registered blind. The Council reviewed her care plan in March 2021.
  2. Miss X needed support to live independently but she had full capacity to make her own decisions. Miss X also needed support to maintain a clean living environment, and to meet her nutritional needs.
  3. Carers provided 2.5 hours’ support twice weekly for domestic and practical tasks, such as cleaning and shopping. However, Miss X sometimes refused visits. Therefore, on review, the Council reduced this to 1.5 hours twice weekly.
  4. The Council provided “Meals on Wheels”. However, on review, Miss X said she did not like this food but relied on food packages and assistance from friends and a local church. Because of this, the Council stopped the provision.
  5. The review also noted Miss X sought a new property. A social housing officer was following this up.
  6. In July 2021, Miss X contacted the Council to explain she was due to move to a new property in six weeks and that she felt neglected by social services. Miss X asked the Council to review her care needs. Miss X explained she did not have any immediate needs but worried about the move and would need support after she relocated.
  7. The Council recorded Miss X did not require a new review as her last one had taken place in March 2021 and the package of care was already meeting her needs. There is no evidence it communicated its decision and reasons to Miss X.
  8. Miss X contacted the Council again the following week to explain she would need someone to help her move but did not yet have a move date.
  9. The Council advised Miss X to apply for a local support payment to see what options were open to her. The Council also planned a visit with Miss X’s allocated social worker and the sensory team once she moved in to assess the situation.
  10. The Council tried to reach Miss X several times over the following weeks, but Miss X did not answer.
  11. Due to issues with the property, Miss X had to push back her moving date to 24 September. The Council agreed to arrange a taxi to transport her.
  12. On 20 September, prior to her moving day, Miss X told the Council she would have no food at her new flat and had been unable to buy a bed or pack her belongings. Miss X asked the Council to provide Meals on Wheels going forward.
  13. That same day, the Council’s social housing department arranged to help Miss X with housing benefits, buying a bed, and booking removals.
  14. On 21 September, the Council arranged for Miss X to receive Meals on Wheels, starting the following day and changing to her new property on 24 September. It also arranged for delivery of a blow-up bed as the bed Miss X had ordered was not due to arrive for two weeks.
  15. On 24 September, the Council contacted Miss X to let her know it had booked the taxi. Miss X said a friend had already taken her to the new property. Miss X told the Council she felt she would need additional help to assist with shopping and food preparation.
  16. That evening Miss X contacted the Council to explain she had not received her Meals on Wheels. The Council contacted Meals on Wheels, who explained they had failed to update Miss X’s new address, so the delivery was attempted at her previous property. Meals on Wheels updated Miss X’s address ahead of the next delivery on 25 September.
  17. Miss X has said the pump for the blow-up bed did not work and so she had to sleep on the floor until her new bed arrived. There is no record that Miss X highlighted this to the Council at the time.
  18. On 28 September the Council reviewed Miss X’s health and social care needs internally. It noted that fitting the appliances Miss X ordered was not part of her care package, but it could contact a handyperson service. The Council says it did not then follow up with this.
  19. The Council said it was aware Miss X needed some support at that point, but it felt there was a balance to be struck with Miss X needing to be proactive and empowered to do things for herself.
  20. Miss X logged a complaint with the Council on 29 September. She explained she was unhappy no plans had been made to review her care and support once she had moved. Miss X said she felt neglected and as though the care worker had a poor attitude towards helping her which meant many arrangements, such as a suitable bed, had not been made. Miss X also raised issues with how the housing association had handled the arrangements.
  21. Miss X contacted the Council on 30 September to explain she did not like the food from Meals on Wheels and requested additional help going to the shops for her own food instead. That day, the Council agreed to cancel the Meals on Wheels and provide an additional hour of escorted shopping twice a week. Miss X’s social worker also agreed to arrange for someone to come and connect her appliances.
  22. On 4 October, Miss X asked the Council to review her care package, and the Council agreed the sensory team would contact her.
  23. The Council also wrote to Miss X that day to respond to her complaint. The Council explained it would review Miss X’s care and support needs in the next few days and it felt it had taken suitable steps to ensure care and support was in place for her move to the new property. The Council explained it was not the social worker’s responsibility to make purchases for Miss X but apologised that the pump for the blow-up bed did not work. The Council accepted communication could have been better, but it felt the support provided had been above average. The Council explained it felt it had correctly rearranged Miss X’s Meals on Wheels and only cancelled this on her request.
  24. On 7 October the sensory team visited Miss X, but she was unwell and asked it to rearrange the assessment. She also explained she had still been unable to inflate the blow-up bed and her appliances still were not connected.
  25. The sensory team tried to contact Miss X again on 12 October but could not reach her.
  26. On 19 October, Miss X referred her complaint to the Ombudsman.
  27. Miss X has explained she has had several other issues since contacting the Ombudsman. Miss X says nobody helped her to fill in an end of tenancy form, so she has accrued rent at her previous property. Miss X also says the Council failed to install grab rails at her new property, so she has suffered a fall and finds it difficult to get around her new home.
  28. In response to our enquiries, the Council explained it reviewed Miss X’s needs on 11 March 2022. The Council has said once this is fully written up, it will include one-off support arrangements to help Miss X with the transition to her new property.
  29. The Council agreed it did not carry out the planned review as it ought to on 7 October 2021, but it did have contact with Miss X after then. The Council says it has amended its process to ensure it properly monitors review requests. The Council also accepted there was a lack of co-ordination that left Miss X without a cooker or a washing machine.
  30. The Council says it was only made aware on 7 October 2021 that Miss X had been unable to inflate the blow-up bed. However, its notes suggested her new bed had been due to arrive the previous day.
  31. The Council explained it was willing to pay Miss X £400 to recognise any distress caused by the delay in conducting a formal review, for not being more proactive, and for not helping with the connection of appliances.

Analysis

  1. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing where a council is acting as a registered social housing provider.
  2. The Council was not obliged to carry out a review of Miss X’s needs before her move just because she asked for it. However, the Council would need to properly consider Miss X’s request and respond accordingly.
  3. The Council has said it felt the package of care was already meeting Miss X’s needs and had only recently been reviewed. As Miss X also confirmed she had no immediate change in needs, I do not find fault with the way the Council came to this decision.
  4. However, the Council did not provide Miss X with a proper response to her request for a review, setting out its decision and reasons. This is fault and would have caused uncertainty for Miss X as she had no record of the Council’s decision-making process.
  5. Although the review of 7 October 2021 was cancelled due to Miss X being unwell, the Council is at fault for not rearranging it promptly. Miss X had to wait a further five months for the review to take place.
  6. The delay in completing the review for Miss X would have caused her considerable uncertainty. This is injustice. Miss X had already expressed concerns about the support she was receiving to the Council and explained she worried about being in the new property. The Council ought to have been aware of this and ensured the review took place on time to satisfy itself Miss X was receiving the right support.
  7. From the timeline set out above, the Council was first made aware Miss X would need support beyond her package of care on 20 September 2021.
    This was when Miss X first told the Council about specific areas in which she would need additional support and is when the Council should have acted.
  8. The timeline the Council has provided shows it did have discussions around how to provide support to Miss X but there were delays in when help was actually offered. There were occasions where the Council offered to take action to contact a handyman service and connect Miss X’s appliances but did not follow up on these offers. This is fault and would have caused further distress for Miss X. This is injustice.
  9. In response to my enquiries, the Council said Miss X informed it she had not been able to inflate her blow-up bed on 7 October 2021. It says there are no further notes about this, but it knew Miss X had been expecting delivery of her new bed the day previously.
  10. The chronology the Council has provided does not refer to Miss X’s bed being assembled until the sensory team visited her on 20 October 2021. There is no indication as to how long Miss X went without a bed.
  11. In any case, the Council’s letter of 4 October 2021 refers to the fact the electric pump had not worked. The Council ought to have been aware before 7 October 2021 that Miss X may not have had a bed.
  12. While I understand the Council was trying to encourage Miss X to be more proactive and empowered to do things for herself, it ought to have liaised with Miss X to ensure this was resolved. This is fault by the Council.
  13. From the contact notes the Council has provided, there does not appear to be fault with the way the Council arranged Meals on Wheels for Miss X. The Council actively cancelled and re-started Meals on Wheels as requested by Miss X.
  14. The Council has also provided copies of emails to show it gave the Meals on Wheels provider the correct dates and addresses relating to Miss X’s move. Although Miss X did not receive a meal on the day she moved, this was not down to any fault of the Council.
  15. There is no evidence to suggest Miss X contacted the Council in the following days to report missed meal deliveries. On balance of probabilities, I would conclude there was only one day when Meals on Wheels was not delivered.
  16. There was a delay in responding to Miss X’s request for further support with shopping on 24 September and this would have caused further uncertainty for Miss X. However, the Council did then add to her provision to help with shopping when she told it she no longer wanted Meals on Wheels on 30 September.
  17. The Council has offered to pay Miss X £400 in recognition of the fault set out above, and this is in line with what I would have recommended in the circumstances.

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Agreed action

  1. To remedy the fault set out above, I recommend the Council:
  2. Within one month:
    • Provide Miss X with a written apology for failing to review her care plan when it should have done, and for the lack of co-ordination around her move.
    • Pay Miss X £400 to recognise the avoidable distress and uncertainty it has caused her during the period of her move.
    • Provide the Ombudsman with evidence of the new procedure that has been put in place to ensure care plan review requests are correctly monitored.
    • Remind staff dealing with requests to review care plans of the need to properly communicate decisions in writing and provide the Ombudsman with evidence of this.
  3. The Council has agreed to these recommendations.

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Final decision

  1. I find fault with the Council for delaying reviewing Miss X’s care plan, and for failing to co-ordinate her move.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

  1. I have not investigated the concerns Miss X raised since she contacted the Ombudsman. The reason for this is she would first need to approach the Council directly and give it an opportunity to investigate any fault.
  2. I also have not investigated the issues relating to the Council acting as a social housing provider. This includes the arrangements to move to the property, the state and readiness of the property, and the delays in arranging the move. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about social housing provided by councils.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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