Service improvements

Cornwall Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022

Find out more about service improvements

When we find fault, we can recommend improvements to systems and processes where they haven’t worked properly, so that others do not suffer from these same problems in future. Common examples are policy changes; procedural reviews; and staff training. Service improvements from decisions are published for 5 years and those from reports are published for 10 years.

Showing 1 - 5 of 5 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for Cornwall Council as a CSV file.

  • Cornwall Council (21 004 525)

    Category: Education Date: 07-Mar-2022

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council failed to ensure her son, B, received suitable educational provision from October 2020 when he became too unwell to attend school. The Council has largely accepted it was at fault and has offered several remedies, which we find mainly remedy the injustice caused to Ms X and her son, B, who missed out on educational provision. We also find the Council at fault for taking a restrictive view of B’s individual circumstances, which focused on the provision of medical evidence before arranging alternative provision for B. To remedy this, the Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X and make several service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to take the following action • review its guidance to staff on when its Section 19 duty is triggered to ensure the recommendations in the Ombudsman’s focus report above are reflected in this. The Council should consider including guidance on our recommendation that councils should choose, based on all the evidence, whether to enforce attendance or provide the child with suitable alternative education; and, • share this decision with relevant staff members.

  • Cornwall Council (20 009 975)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 21-Jun-2021

    Summary

    The Council delayed completing a financial assessment to decide what Mrs C should pay towards her residential care fees. The Council’s delay meant Mrs C accrued a large debt, it was a shock to receive an invoice for over £23,000 having never been in debt in her life. The Council delayed dealing with the complaint. Mrs C wants the Council to waive the debt, but this is a debt for which she is liable, The Council will offer Mrs C a reasonable repayment plan. The Council will apologise for its delay, pay £200 each to Mrs C and Mr B, and improve its procedures.

    Service improvements

    Remind relevant finance staff to send tailored letters where there is any failure in the Council’s service. And specifically, where there is a delay in financial assessment which leads to arrears accruing. In these circumstances the Council should ensure to apologise for its delay and offer repayment by instalments. I note the invoice has a box called ‘Payment Terms: (if not standard 28 days).’ This was left blank, but something could have been inserted here regarding agreeing a repayment plan.Review the process for sending cheques to find a way to also send a covering letter when necessary. In this case a letter could have been generated and sent in advance of the cheque so she would have been expecting it and would understand what it was for. Therefore, the Council may need to remind relevant staff to take this action where necessary.

  • Cornwall Council (20 006 368)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 30-Sep-2021

    Summary

    Mrs X complains that her mother was neglected in a care home. She says this caused her mother to become malnourished, dehydrated resulting in an acute kidney injury, and depressed. Mrs X also complains that the Care Provider did not respond appropriately when she complained. The Ombudsman finds fault causing injustice to Mrs X and her mother. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X and make a payment to reflect the injustice caused. The Council has also agreed to make improvements to its service and the Care Provider’s service.

    Service improvements

    the Council will remind the Care Provider, including management, about the need to respond to complaints in line with its complaints policy.the Council will help the Care Provider to draw up a policy which clearly states how the Care Provider will deal with residents who refuse fluid/nutrition, including residents who lack capacity.the Council will ensure the Care Provider reviews its practice to make sure GPs have more timely and regular involvement if there are concerns with residents refusing to eat and drink.the Council will remind the Care Provider to keep proper records of discussions with residents and family members about any concerns.the Council will review its Commissioned Provider Complaints Policy so the Council is aware of complaints made about commissioned providers and has the ability to review those complaint responses if it wishes.

  • Cornwall Council (20 005 073)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 10-Sep-2021

    Summary

    Ms X complains on behalf of Ms Y in her capacity as Mrs Z’s court appointed deputy for property and financial affairs. Ms X complains the Council did not include deputyship fees in Mrs Z’s financial assessment as an allowable expense and it intended to take Ms Z’s capital below that allowed in statutory guidance to clear a debt she owed to the Council. We found fault in the way the Council decided to recover the debt from Mrs Z, calculated her financial assessment and failed to consider the deputyship fees as an allowable expense. These faults caused Mrs Z an injustice which cannot be remedied as she has since died. The Council accepts our recommendations it should make changes to its charging policy when considering requests for including deputyship fees in financial assessments.

    Service improvements

    The Council to review its charging policy so it is clear on its position to allow deputyship fees in certain circumstances.The Council to review all other cases involving deputyship fees in the last 12 months in the light of my findings and reassess charges where necessary.

  • Cornwall Council (20 001 453)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 07-Sep-2021

    Summary

    The Council has delayed meeting Ms C’s adult social care needs, and Mr B’s needs as a carer. The Council’s communication has been poor. Mr B supports Ms C, but this has a negative impact on their relationship, causing stress and anxiety. Mr B has had time and trouble chasing the Council for information and clarity and feels unsupported. The Council will apologise, make acknowledgement payments to Mr B and Ms C, complete Ms C’s care and support review or reassessment without further delay, and remind staff of the importance of clear communication and chasing referrals.

    Service improvements

    Remind relevant adult social care staff of the importance of clear communication and being open and transparent with customers. Remind relevant staff of the importance of having an oversight of work that is contracted out and chasing where necessary to ensure completion. The Council should ensure it has adequate systems in place to achieve this. If it doesn’t already the Council should gain consent to contact relevant professionals/agencies to support the assessment and care planning process.

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