Service improvements

Essex County Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024

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 - 7 of 7 cases with service improvements

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

  • Essex County Council (23 009 545)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 19-Mar-2024

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about the actions of the care provider arranged by the Council after her father, Mr Y, fell at home. There was fault in how the care provider, acting on behalf of the Council, arranged for Mr Y to go into a care home, without seeking the Council’s approval first. This led to Mr Y being charged for care he would not have been. The Council agreed to apologise, reimburse some of the care fees Mr Y was charged and remind its providers about the correct procedure to follow in future.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to remind care providers which it uses to provide home care about the process they should follow when someone requires an urgent change to their care. This could be through a provider bulletin or similar, if the Council publishes such a bulletin.

  • Essex County Council (23 006 298)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 12-Feb-2024

    Summary

    Ms B complained about the Council and Primecare’s role in her father’s care in the period before he died. There was fault in the care provided by Primecare and in the complaint handling by both Primecare and the Council. Both should apologise to Ms B and make a payment.

    Service improvements

    The Council will take steps to ensure that Primecare has taken action to ensure that the faults found cannot recur.The Council will provide evidence to show it has taken steps to ensure Primecare has in place an effective and accessible complaint process.The Council will ensure that it has in place guidance for staff to ensure it is clear how complaints about adult social care service providers are considered and that it has been drawn to the attention of staff dealing with such complaints.

  • Essex County Council (23 005 361)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 20-Nov-2023

    Summary

    The complainant (Mr X) said the Council failed when carrying out a financial assessment and the Deferred Payment Agreement (DPA) process for his late father (Mr Y). Mr X also complained about the way the Council dealt with his complaint. We found fault in all matters complained about. This fault caused injustice to Mr Y and Mr X. The Council agreed to apologise, pay to Mr Y’s estate part of the residential nursing fees which would have not been incurred if not for the Council’s failings and make payments for Mr X’s distress and time and trouble. The Council also agreed to carry out some service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its process of registering referrals for financial assessments to ensure theCouncil records any requests for a financial assessment and the date of sending financial assessments with all the attached documents to the service user.The Council will review its Deferred Payment Agreement process to ensure:a) service users receive detailed information tailored to their individual circumstances at the beginning of the process;b) the Council makes a decision on eligibility without delay;c) service users have clarity what documents they have to provide for a DPA;The Council will improve communication between various teams providing Adult Social Care services to ensure there is an exchange of information and communications without involving service users;The Council will train its staff dealing with Adult Social Care complaints to ensure the compliance with the Council’s Complaints and Representations Policy 2022.

  • Essex County Council (23 001 498)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 11-Oct-2023

    Summary

    The Council failed to ensure Miss Y received accurate invoices for domiciliary care services from a care agency commissioned by the Council. The Council delayed in acting on numerous complaints about this.

    Service improvements

    confirm if/how many other service users have been similarly affected and the action taken to remedy any injustice caused.

  • Essex County Council (22 015 198)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 25-May-2023

    Summary

    The Council failed to act in accordance with the law during assessments/reviews of Ms Y’s care needs from 2020 onwards. It also failed to ensure an adequate personal budget was in place which resulted in the breakdown of an established care package. The Council also failed to communicate effectively with Ms Y’s representative.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to consider any training needs of officers completing or overseeing needs assessments under the Care Act.

  • Essex County Council (22 014 668)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 24-Jul-2023

    Summary

    Ms X complained about how the Council met Mrs Y’s needs for care and support and how it administered her direct payments. The Council failed to give Ms X or Mrs Y sufficient information about direct payments and failed to review Mrs Y’s direct payments and care plan properly. The Council also failed to offer Ms X a carer’s assessment when it should have. This caused Ms X and Mrs Y stress and uncertainty and meant Ms X had to supplement Mrs Y’s direct payments to cover the cost of her care. The Council will apologise, pay Mrs Y the shortfall in her care costs and carry out staff training.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind staff they must review a person's direct payments and care and support plan every 12 months.The Council will remind staff of the information they should provide to people considering direct payments, as set out in the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.

  • Essex County Council (22 002 320)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 18-May-2023

    Summary

    Mr C complains about the care the Council and its provider gave to his late father, particularly around a lack of consideration of his cultural needs. Mr C says this highlighted a lack of race awareness within the Council and the Nursing Home. The Ombudsman upholds most of the complaint and has made recommendations, to which the Council agrees.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to provide us with a report on its progress in carrying out the steps its own report identified as recommendations in relation to cultural awareness.

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