Service improvements

Durham County Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2026

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 11 - 20 of 36 cases with service improvements

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

  • Durham County Council (24 007 103)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 30-Mar-2025

    Summary

    Mr X complains the Council failed to arrange suitable support for him when he left hospital in April 2024, leaving him without the support he needed. The Council delayed in identifying the need to reassess Mr X’s needs, review his financial assessment with him, and review his risk management plan. These delays caused avoidable distress to Mr X, but he was left without the support he needed because he was not prepared to pay for it. The Council needs to apologise for the distress it caused and take action to improve its services.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to take action to ensure people in Mr X’s circumstances can self-refer for an assessment of their needs;work with the Handyman Service with a view to it accepting referrals from the Council without the need for the person to then prove their eligibility to use the service.

  • Durham County Council (24 007 054)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 10-Feb-2025

    Summary

    Mrs F complained about the Council’s actions in respect of the payment of fees for care in a residential care home for her father (Mr G). We found the Council failed to keep Mrs F informed of its actions and gave inaccurate information in its initial response. The Council has agreed to make a symbolic payment of £400 to Mrs F and to improve its procedures for the future.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to ensure all social work staff are aware of the correct procedure to follow when a person goes into residential care.

  • Durham County Council (24 001 522)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 15-Jan-2025

    Summary

    Mr X complained he was incorrectly discharged from Section 117 aftercare. We found the Trust, the Council and the ICB did not follow the relevant guidance when discharging Mr X from Section 117 aftercare. This caused uncertainty to Mr X over whether he should have received additional mental health support in the period that followed, and whether this may have prevented his health from deteriorating. The Trust, Council and ICB agreed to provide a remedy to Mr X by reassessing his Section 117 needs, and making service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council together with the ICB and Trust, will ensure staff are trained on how to apply the current Section 117 aftercare policy when discharging people from Section 117 aftercare, including fully involving people and their carers or advocates in the decision.

  • Durham County Council (23 019 438)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 09-Oct-2024

    Summary

    Mr C complains about the Council’s care charges and increases in care to his brother. The Council is at fault for making changes to a support plan without clarifying the services provided, and providing wrong and delayed invoices. These faults have caused frustration, time, and trouble. To remedy the complaint the Council has agreed to apologise to Mr C, make him a symbolic payment, and provide a detailed amended invoice. It will also make service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to:a) review the invoicing errors and delays that have occurred in this complaint and provide a plan about what the Council will do to prevent reoccurrence;b) review how this service provider has been monitored and whether the spot checks currently in place for charging are sufficient to prevent future service failure;c) review how the Council advises and invoices people for telecare services to ensure the information and charges are clear;d) remind staff about the importance of recording changes in care packages and providing updated support plans to service users so that there is a clear written record of provided services;e) remind staff about going through services provided when completing a review so that there is a record the person is receiving services both agreed to and paid for.

  • Durham County Council (23 003 726)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 02-Jan-2024

    Summary

    Mrs X complains the Council has failed to provide her with the care and support it has assessed her as needing, causing her distress and putting unreasonable pressure on her husband. The Council was at fault as: it failed to review her care and support plan to make sure her personal budget was enough to meet her needs: left her with little choice but to accept direct payments which she did not want; has failed to meet all her needs since February 2023; did not complete her June 2022 care and support plan properly; and failed to give due regard to her rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 when responding to her complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise, pay financial redress and take action to improve its services.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to identify the action it is going to take to ensure officers understand the Council’s duties under the Care Act 2014 to:a) meet people’s eligible care needsb) increase personal budgets when a cheaper solution cannot be foundc) only provide direct payments if people request themThe Council has agreed to take action to ensure officers take account of people's rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 when responding to complaints.

  • Durham County Council (22 016 416)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 30-Aug-2023

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council maliciously failed to provide the care and support he needed since 2017. Mr X also complained the Council relied on a risk assessment that was based on inaccurate information and refused to amend it despite knowing the information was incorrect. Mr X said the Council colluded with other agencies to treat him with prejudice and discrimination. The Council failed to provide the reablement care it assessed that Mr X needed for six weeks in October 2022. There is no evidence this was done with any malicious intent. There is no fault in how the Council considered and updated its risk assessment. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him a symbolic amount of £300 to recognise the distress the missed reablement caused him.

    Service improvements

    The Council was unable to procure a care provider to meet a man's reablement care needs. The Council will review its care commissioning arrangements and create an action plan of the actions it will take to improve the availability of care providers. It will provide the Ombudsman with a copy of the action plan.

  • Durham County Council (22 006 163)

    Category: Other Categories Date: 21-Sep-2023

    Summary

    Mr and Mrs X complain about delay in completing home insulation works which the Council agreed to fund through an energy efficiency grant. We have found service failure by the Council resulting in three months delay to the works being completed. This caused an injustice to Mr and Mrs X in the form of distress and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a financial payment and service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to review its handling of this case and consider how it can improve its management of the Energy Efficiency Improvement (EEI) Scheme in the future.

  • Durham County Council (21 018 631)

    Category: Planning Date: 20-Jun-2023

    Summary

    Mr X complains the Council failed to take enforcement action in respect of a neighbouring property. The Council properly investigated the reported breaches of planning control and then used its professional judgement to decide it would not take formal action. There is fault in how it communicated with Mr X and it should apologise.

    Service improvements

    Review procedures to ensure that decisions on enforcement matters are properly recorded and communicated

  • Durham County Council (22 008 257)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 10-Mar-2023

    Summary

    Mrs T complained the Council said her mother, Mrs X, would not have to pay for her stay in a care home. Mrs T stated the Council completed a financial assessment a year later and charged Mrs X retrospectively. Mrs T said the Council failed to consider if Mrs X could afford to pay the charges. The Council failed to conduct a financial assessment in line with the statutory guidance and failed to tell Mrs T about Mrs X’s contributions for eleven months. The Council agreed to write off the charges until the date of the financial assessment and apologise to Mrs T for the distress it caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council will ensure it tells relevant officers to provide information leaflets on charging to people receiving adult social care at the earliest opportunity, even where a financial assessment will be delayed.

  • Durham County Council (22 006 410)

    Category: Education Date: 23-Jan-2023

    Summary

    Mrs B complained that the Council in respect of her son C’s special educational needs, failed to provide adequate full-time education when he was unable to attend school, delayed in carrying out an adequate social care assessment or provide social support to enable a successful transition to college, and failed to communicate properly with her throughout this period. We found fault with the Council’s actions. The Council has agreed to increase its payment to Mrs B and C and improve its monitoring of alternative education provision.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed, within three months, to review themonitoring of alternative educational provision to ensure it regularly assesses if the provision remains suitable.

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