Service improvements

London Borough of Bromley

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2025 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 1 - 6 of 6 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for London Borough of Bromley as a CSV file.

  • London Borough of Bromley (25 000 778)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 28-Jan-2026

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about a decision to charge a top-up fee for her mother’s care home placement. She said the organisations did not offer her mother a suitable alternative that was within budget. We found no fault with the organisations’ decision to charge a top‑up fee. We did find that Mrs X’s mother’s best interests were not considered sooner, after her capacity to understand decisions about her care declined. This meant top-up fees were charged for longer than needed. We recommended the organisations reduce the top-up fees they have invoiced for.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind staff of the need to consider mental capacity assessments and Best Interest decisions when there is a change in a person’s presentation.

  • London Borough of Bromley (24 023 042)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 03-Mar-2026

    Summary

    We upheld a complaint made on behalf of Mr C, finding the Council delayed in carrying out an assessment of his social care needs. It also communicated poorly with him and his representative at times, while he waited for the assessment to begin. This caused injustice to Mr C as he did not receive the care and support he needed and he experienced unnecessary distress. The Council has accepted these findings and at the end of this statement we set out action it agreed to take to remedy that injustice and improve its service.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed that it would review its current practice and procedure for communicating with those waiting for social care needs assessment. It agreed this would cover providing information on likely waiting times, giving periodic updates and providing contact details in the event of any change in circumstances potentially making an assessment more urgent.The Council agreed it would review its current practice and procedures when social work staff were unexpectedly absent from work. It needed to ensure it had a process in place to respond to urgent contacts from users of the service, and non-urgent contacts where staff were absent for more than five working days.

  • London Borough of Bromley (24 022 926)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 31-Mar-2026

    Summary

    The Council was not at fault for the action it took to meet Mrs X’s needs when she moved into its area. However, when she moved out of the Council’s area, it should have continued delivering her care until the new authority accepted responsibility. It did not do so, for which it was at fault. Mrs X suffered distress, which the Council has agreed to recognise with an apology and a symbolic payment. It will also take steps to improve its service.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind its social care officers and managers of its duty (under paragraph 19.77 of the care and support statutory guidance) to continue delivering care to someone while a dispute about their ordinary residence is being resolved, if it was delivering care to them on the date the dispute arose.

  • London Borough of Bromley (24 020 888)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 06-Oct-2025

    Summary

    Mr X, complained of the Council’s handling of his mother’s, Mrs X’s, care package. The Council provided Mrs X with a copy of the financial assessment letter including the personal budget without delay so it was not at fault. It also cancelled the care package when requested without fault. However, the Council was at fault for overcharging Mrs X for the hours of care she received and failed to provide Mrs X with a copy of the estimated personal budget. The Council has agreed to reimburse Mrs X the money it overcharged her by to remedy the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to remind the relevant officers to ensure an estimated personal budget is shared with the person at the start of the care and support planning process.The Council agreed to review how it ensures care visits are charged in line with what is recorded within the support plan

  • London Borough of Bromley (24 016 542)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 19-Jan-2026

    Summary

    Mr X complained about the Council’s investigation into the safeguarding and charging services it provided. He says the Council failed to act on the charging issue before it had resolved the safeguarding matter. Also, the Council agreed to cancel the charges but then delayed in doing so. We found the Council at fault. It has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment to recognise the injustice caused and complete a new written outcome letter into the safeguarding investigation.

    Service improvements

    The Council will provide guidance to staff completing safeguarding investigations explaining the importance of providing appropriate explanations and actions taken to those who have raised concerns in the first instance.

  • London Borough of Bromley (24 005 064)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 26-Aug-2025

    Summary

    Mrs H complained about the care provided to her son, Mr G, by London Borough of Bromley, NHS South East London Integrated Care Board and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. We found fault by these organisations for their handling of Mr G’s discharge from hospital. This caused Mr G and Mrs H distress and uncertainty. The organisations will act to put matters right and review their policies and procedures to prevent similar problems occurring in future.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its section 117 policies and procedures to ensure they reflect the requirements of the Mental Health Act 1983 and the associated Code of Practice. These reviews should ensure there is clear guidance for staff around effective care planning and the importance of an allocated care coordinator for people with complex needs.

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