Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (22 006 567)

Statement Upheld Allocations 03-May-2023

Summary: Mr X complained that the Council failed to properly consider medical information when assessing his request for housing priority, delayed making and reviewing its decision, and caused confusion. He said it caused unnecessary distress, impacted on his mental health, and impacted on his family. Largely we do not find the Council at fault. However, we find the Council at fault for a delay sending its review decision. This caused injustice. We are satisfied the Council’s apology has already remedied this injustice.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (22 016 245)

Statement Upheld Residential care 25-Jun-2023

Summary: Miss K is making a complaint about the care and treatment her father (Mr Q) received in residential care before he died. She says the Care Provider delayed in seeking suitable treatment for Mr Q and failed to consult with his family and doctor on his health decline. We have not identified any fault by the Care Provider about the issues raised by Miss K. We did find fault with information the Care Provider provided to the NHS about Mr Q’s needs to assess his eligibility for funding of his care needs. However, we cannot say whether Mr Q was eligible and therefore suffered an injustice.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (22 016 852)

Statement Upheld Allocations 13-Jul-2023

Summary: Mr D complained how the Council handled his request to join the housing register. He says the Council unfairly refused his application without clearly explaining why and it refused to give him the opportunity to rectify matters. He also says the Council failed to deal with his complaints. We find the Council was at fault for failing to give Mr D detailed reasons why it was rejecting his appeal of its decision to exclude him from the housing register. It also failed to properly deal with his complaints. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (22 012 365)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 17-Jul-2023

Summary: There were significant delays in the Council’s assessments of Mr B’s needs and reviews of his care plan. The Council also sometimes failed to properly explain how it had considered Mr B’s needs and how it had reached the decisions. The Council has agreed to apologise, to pay a financial remedy, to review the care plan and provide training to relevant staff.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (22 013 033)

Statement Upheld Other 17-Jul-2023

Summary: The complainant (Miss X) said the Children’s Trust (the Trust) acting for the Council failed to review contact arrangements with her son (Y) for whom a Care Order is in place. We found fault with the Council for refusing to consider Miss X’s complaint through its children’s statutory complaint procedure. This caused Miss X injustice. The Council agreed to apologise, consider Miss X’s complaint under the children’s statutory complaint procedure and make a payment. The Council also agreed to review all cases for which it applied the Unreasonable and Unreasonably Persistent Complainants and Unacceptable Behaviours policy to ensure the correct decision-making process takes place for any new complaints.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (21 014 747)

Statement Upheld Residential care 03-Aug-2023

Summary: Mrs Y, the late Ms X’s sister, complained to us about Ms X’s care, arranged for her by the Council and the ICB as S117 aftercare, and provided by EL Marsh Care Home. We have found fault by all the organisations because EL Marsh Care Home failed to: take adequate measures to protect Ms X from Covid-19; provide Ms X with adequate care from 5 August to 17 August and on 18 August; and provide Mrs Y with a proper response to her complaint. EL Marsh Care Home has agreed to remedy this by apologising to Mrs Y, making payments to reflect the distress, time and trouble its failures caused her and service improvements. The Council and the ICB have agreed to take steps to ensure they remain satisfied that EL Marsh Care Home can provide adequate S117 aftercare on their behalf.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (22 016 928)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 16-Aug-2023

Summary: Miss B, complains for her grandmother, Ms C, the Council placed her in a care home without explaining the charges she would incur and delayed undertaking a financial assessment. Miss B says Ms C lived in the care home for three months before the Council told her she would need to pay a top-up fee she could not afford. We found fault with the Council for failing to provide Miss B with accurate and timely information about the cost of residential care. The Council will remedy the injustice caused to Miss B and her family by its faults by apologising and cancelling the top-up fee.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (23 001 268)

Statement Upheld Allocations 27-Sep-2023

Summary: Miss X complained the Council has failed to properly consider her medical condition and housing needs when assessing her priority on the housing register and property entitlement. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered Miss X’s housing needs. However the delay in responding to Miss X’s review request is fault, for which the Council should apologise.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (23 004 120)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 10-Nov-2023

Summary: Miss D complained the Council failed to provide her with appropriate support after she approached it for homelessness assistance. She says the Council’s communication with her was poor and she constantly had to chase for a response. We find the Council was at fault for its communication with Miss D and for how long it took to reach a decision on her homelessness application. The Council has agreed to make an increased payment to Miss D to reflect her injustice.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (22 010 785)

Report Upheld Residential care 17-Nov-2023

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to offer a nursing home suitable for Mrs Z’s cultural needs. She said because of this Mrs Z has suffered hair, diet and skin issues caused by the Council’s commissioned care provider, Newbury Manor nursing home. Ms X said this has caused her and Mrs Z significant distress.