Warwickshire County Council (13 000 134)
Summary
Complaint from a couple that the council failed to provide respite care in line with their adult disabled daughter's needs. The council also failed to ensure the care provider registered the home, where the women stayed for respite, with the Care Quality Commission.
The complaint
Complaint from a couple that the council failed to provide respite care in line with their adult disabled daughter's needs. The council also failed to ensure the care provider registered the home, where the women stayed for respite, with the Care Quality Commission.
Finding
The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.
Recommendations
To remedy the injustice caused, we recommend the council:
- remind its care providers of the ability to employ gender specific staff where considered a necessary requirement of the job;
- arrange respite care at the home in line with the assessment of the women's needs and care plan, and in line with her support plan and her parents carers' assessment;
- pay the women's parents £5,500 for the lack of appropriate respite care services over the past two and a half years and £1,000 for their considerable time and trouble in pursuing this complaint;
- remove from the women's files the references to her mother being 'abusive'; and
- apologise in writing to the women's parents for the faults we have identified.
The council has agreed to arrange the respite care and the home has agreed to offer the guarantee of female carers for intimate care. The council has also agreed to remove the references from the files (recommendation 4 above) and to pay the parents £6,500 if Members' approve.