A Worcestershire child with significant and complex needs had to live in an unsuitable home for far longer than necessary because Bromsgrove and Worcestershire councils made a catalogue of errors when adapting a home to their needs.

The child and their family had been living in a home that did not meet their needs. Bromsgrove District Council accepted the family was therefore homeless and a property was found that could be adapted.

However, a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s investigation has found work to adapt the property took longer than it should have done to complete. The home also needed significant further alterations because those that were done did not meet the child’s needs. Because of this, the child had to spend six weeks in respite care away from their family while the extra changes were made.

At the time the events took place, Bromsgrove District Council was the housing authority and a Worcestershire County Council-owned company called Worcestershire Children First delivered services for children in Worcestershire.

The catalogue of issues with the work, which was funded by the district and county councils, and the NHS, included a bedroom that was too small to accommodate access all the way around the child’s hospital bed, limited space for equipment and a failure to consider the child would need a bigger bed as they grew.

The councils spent too long deciding whether to extend the bedroom by taking space away from the kitchen, which would have meant the family had nowhere to sit together at mealtimes, instead of extending the property further.

And garden adaptations meant the child could only access a small patio, which was too small for their wheelchair to turn on as the rest of the garden was only accessible by steps.

Ms Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“The councils focused too much on achieving adaptations that would fit within permitted development rights, rather than on providing a home that was suitable for the child’s needs. Because of this the child and their family spent far too long living in a place that was fundamentally not good enough.

“The councils did not include the mother in key discussions, and did not ensure she fully understood what was happening, and it’s certainly possible that the councils have now spent significantly more on changing the property following the initial works than they would have done had they got it right in the first place.

“When dealing with major schemes such as these, involving multiple different agencies, councils should provide a single point of contact for people to feed in their views and so that any concerns can be addressed at the earliest opportunity.

“I am pleased the councils agreed to my recommendations to put things right for the family, and to improve the way they work together on schemes to arrange major adaptations for people with disabilities.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case both councils have agreed to apologise to the mother. The district council has agreed to pay the mother £2,000 to distress and frustration caused by its delays and poor communication.

The county council has agreed to pay £4,000 to acknowledge the injustice caused by the failure to ensure the initial plans met her child’s needs.

In addition, both councils will share refunding the cost the mother paid for her private occupational therapy and architect reports, and will also pay £500 each to acknowledge the direct impact on the child of their failings.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the district council will review its procedures to ensure it communicates effectively with applicants so they understand what adaptations they are agreeing to and that any plans are agreed with the occupational therapist to ensure they meet the person’s needs.

The county council will produce a policy to require its occupational therapists to involve an applicant as early as possible in the adaptations process to ensure the recommendations made are appropriate to meet the assessed needs of the child.  

Article date: 05 December 2024