Summary: The Council was not at fault for failing to tell Ms X about its decision to extend her mother’s stay at a care home. The Council was at fault for not properly explaining the cost of a temporary stay in a care home. It has taken steps to rectify the costs so no remedy is recommended.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains on behalf of her mother Mrs Y that the Council:
• Did not tell Ms X it planned to extend Mrs Y’s stay at a care home.
• Did not properly explain care charges before extending Mrs Y’s stay in a care home or complete financial assessments properly.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.
6. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

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What I found

Law and guidance

7. A temporary resident is someone admitted to a care or nursing home where the agreed plan is for it to last for a limited period, such as respite care, or there is doubt a permanent admission is required. The person’s stay should be unlikely to exceed 52 weeks, or in exceptional circumstances, unlikely to substantially exceed 52 weeks. A decision to treat a person as a temporary resident must be agreed with the person and/or their representative and written into their care plan.
8. A council can choose whether to charge a person where it is arranging to meet their needs. In the case of a short-term resident in a care home, the council has discretion to assess and charge as if the person were having their needs met other than by providing accommodation in a care home. Once a council has decided to charge a person, and it has been agreed they are a temporary resident, it must complete the financial assessment in line with the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.
9. The Council’s charging policy says it will only charge short breaks in a care home for a maximum of 28 consecutive nights and no more than 56 nights in a rolling 12 month period. Any nights exceeding this the Council will charge under temporary care arrangements.

What happened

10. Mrs Y has care needs and lacks capacity. Ms X has lasting power of attorney for Mrs Y. Prior to August 2024 Mrs Y was living at home and would receive care from Ms X and her family.
11. In August 2024, the Council visited Mrs Y and Ms X to discuss respite care. The Council agreed to place Mrs Y into a care home while Ms X had some respite and went on holiday. Mrs Y was supposed to stay at the care home until 15 September 2024.
12. The Council consulted with several care homes. Ms X chose Care Home Z. The Council told Ms X she would have to pay a top up fee for this home. In early September 2024 email communication between Ms X and the Council showed Ms X agreed to pay a top up fee.
13. On 2 September 2024, the Council emailed Ms X and told her it did not have the figures yet for the top up fee she had to pay. On 4 September 2024, Mrs Y moved into the care home to start her respite stay. On the same day the Council telephoned Ms X and agreed to extend Mrs Y’s stay in Care Home Z until 2 October 2024. This was to so the Council could allocate Mrs Y a long term social worker and consider her long term care needs.
14. On 20 September 2024, the Council sent Ms X a completed financial assessment. This told her Mrs Y’s weekly contribution for Care Home Z was £276.45 per week. On 23 September 2024, the Council wrote to Ms X again about Mrs Y’s care contribution. The Council said it had charged Mrs Y on the basis she was in residential care whereas it should have charged her as though she was not in residential care as the stay in Care Home Z was for respite.
15. On 26 September 2024, the Council decided to extend Mrs Y’s stay at Care Home Z until 16 October 2024 and agreed this with Care Home Z. The Council telephoned Ms X to discuss this extension and told her it was extending Mrs Y’s stay as it needed more time to discuss her options for care. At this time the Council believed it was not safe for Mrs Y to return home without further input and planning from social care.
16. On 2 October 2024, the Council held a best interests meeting for Mrs Y. At the meeting Ms X wanted Care Home Z to make Mrs Y a permanent resident, however Care Home Z said it could not meet Mrs Y’s needs.
17. On 16 October 2024, Mrs Y returned home with live in carers in place.
18. In early November 2024, the Council sent Ms X a new letter about the charges for Mrs Y’s time at Care Home Z.
19. Ms X complained to the Council on 14 January 2025. Ms X said she was not included in discussions about Mrs Y’s care charges which led to confusion about how much she had to pay. Ms X also said the Council extended Mrs Y’s respite care without consulting her.
20. On 24 February 2025, the Council responded to Ms X’s complaint. The Council said:
• It told Ms X in late August 2024 it would carry out a financial assessment and she would have to pay a contribution towards Mrs Y’s care costs. The Council said further conversations in September 2024 and November 2024, showed it told Ms X how much she would have to pay.
• There was some confusion around the type of financial assessment Mrs Y needed and the charges communicated. The Council said it had now resolved this and had agreed to charge the first 28 days at Care Home Z as a short stay and the remaining time as a temporary placement.
• It extended Mrs Y’s stay at Care Home Z as there was no availability of alternative care and Mrs Y needed care until a long term solution was agreed.
21. Ms X remained dissatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

Extending Mrs Y’s time at Care Home Z

22. The records showed the Council communicated with Ms X each time it extended Mrs Y’s stay at Care Home Z. On 4 September 2024, it telephoned Ms X and told her about the extension. The notes from this call showed Ms X was happy for the Council to extend Mrs Y’s stay.
23. The Council also told Ms X about the second extension until 16 October 2024. Notes showed the Council did this in an email on 26 September 2024. I am therefore satisfied the Council did tell Ms X of its intention to extend Mrs Y’s placement at Care Home Z.

Financial assessment and charging

24. Ms X said the Council did not discuss charges with her and she did not know how much she was supposed to pay towards Mrs Y’s care costs. The Council said it discussed charges in late August and 23 September 2024, with Ms X.
25. I cannot see where the Council communicated its charges to Ms X until 20 September 2024, when it wrote to her outlining what she had to pay weekly. The Council did discuss with Ms X she had to pay a contribution towards Mrs Y’s care and the records showed Ms X agreed to this in early September 2024.
26. When the Council wrote to Ms X on 20 September 2024 with details of the charges these were incorrect as it had charged Mrs Y on the basis she was a permanent resident in Care Home Z. Failure to properly communicate charges to Ms X was fault.
27. The Council has recognised there was some confusion around the type of financial assessment Mrs Y needed. While there has been fault with how it communicated charges to Ms X I am satisfied it has taken steps to correct this. The Council has rectified this and charged for 28 days short stay with the remainder of the time at Care Home Z as a temporary placement. This is in line with the Council’s charging policy. I am satisfied this remedies any injustice caused to Ms X and Mrs Y.

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Decision

I find fault not causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman