Service improvements

St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023

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 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council as a CSV file.

  • St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (22 003 504)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 06-Jan-2023

    Summary

    The Council was at fault when the care provider acting on its behalf wrongly billed a deceased resident’s family for outstanding care fees. The Council also failed to identify during its complaints process that it was the organisation responsible for the total cost of the placement and instead passed the responsibility for some of the outstanding fees onto the resident’s family. These faults caused the family avoidable distress and inconvenience. The action the Council intends to take is sufficient to remedy this injustice. The Council has also agreed to carry out our recommended service improvements to prevent recurrence of the same faults in future.

    Service improvements

    The Council was at fault when a local adult social care provider acting on its behalf wrongly billed a deceased resident's family for outstanding care fees. The Council has agreed to demonstrate that the local adult social care provider has carried out an investigation into why the family were incorrectly billed despite receiving evidence from the family to disprove its calculations.The Council was at fault for failing to identify during its complaints process that it was the organisation responsible for the total cost of the placement and instead passed the responsibility for some of the outstanding fees onto the resident's family. The Council has agreed to show that improvements have been made to a local adult social care provider’s systems for billing residents to prevent this fault occurring in future.The Council has agreed to show that it has taken steps to improve a local adult social care provider’s approach to transparency and communication with the Council at all times, but particularly when being investigated.The Council has agreed to remind its complaints team and adult social care team that disputes over top-up fees are not only matters for the complainant and the care provider, if the Council has commissioned the care.

  • St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (22 002 085)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 24-Nov-2022

    Summary

    Mr C says a care home, acting on behalf of the Council, failed to provide any recompense for rings it lost, failed to explain how Mrs B had sustained a head injury and failed to recognise Mrs B had a urinary tract infection. The care home, acting on behalf of the Council, failed to follow its procedures for storing valuables and for dealing with falls and failed to complete records properly. An apology, payment to Mr C, liaison with the care home and Mr C to see whether an agreement can be reached on recompense for the rings and training for care staff is satisfactory remedy.

    Service improvements

    The Council will provide evidence to the Ombudsman of the actions taken by the care home to ensure staff are aware of the procedure to follow with residents belongings and when a fall takes place.

  • St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (22 001 418)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 28-Nov-2022

    Summary

    The complainant’s representative (Mrs X) complained about the Council’s failings when providing her son (Mr Y) with adult social care services and when charging him for care. We find the Council at fault for its failure to provide Mr Y and Mrs X as his main carer with a reviewed care and support plan and for its failure to make reasonable adjustments for Mr Y. This caused Mr Y injustice. We also find fault within a safeguarding process but this did not cause significant injustice to Mr Y. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr Y and make a payment for his distress. The Council also agreed to make some service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will consider the increase in monitoring of care needs assessments and re-assessments as well as care and support plans being sent to service users.The Council will consider introducing more prominent recording of any reasonable adjustments required by service users in the assessment or re-assessment documents as well as care and support plans.The Council will provide evidence that this has happened.

  • St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (21 018 898)

    Category: Planning Date: 27-Feb-2023

    Summary

    Mr C complained the Council failed to properly consider a prior approval application or respond to his subsequent reports and complaint. Mr C says he suffers from overlooking and unsecure access to his garden and spent unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve the matter. We have found no fault by the Council in its consideration of the prior approval application but there was fault in the way it responded to Mr C’s reports and complaint. I am satisfied the agreed action of an apology, £500 and a review of training and procedure provides a suitable remedy.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its complaints procedure to ensure that all complainants receive a response in line with its published timescales or an explanation where this is not possible and that referrals from the Ombudsman are acted on promptly.The Council will review its training and guidance to relevant staff to ensure correct information is provided about potential enforcement action with particular reference to prior approval applications.The Council will review its enforcement procedure to ensure that reports are prioritised appropriately and members of the public are kept updated as necessary.

  • St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (21 015 216)

    Category: Education Date: 13-Jul-2022

    Summary

    Mrs C complained the Council caused delays when it reviewed her son’s Education, Health and Care plan, and it failed to put in place some agreed special educational needs provision. We found the Council caused unnecessary delays in reviewing the final amended EHC plan and to put in place the agreed provision for Mrs C’s son, including delays in arranging her direct payment. The Council agreed to apologise to Mrs C and make payment to acknowledge the distress and costs she had, including the loss of educational provision her son experienced.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its procedures for when it will agree to make changes to finalised EHC plans and how long the process should take. This is to ensure the appeal’s process and SEN provision is not unnecessarily delayed.The Council will train, or provide guidance, to its staff to ensure its procedures for making changes to finalised EHC plans are applied at all times, and only includes the changes agreed with parents.

  • St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (21 007 421)

    Category: Education Date: 24-Jul-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complains the Council failed to conduct an annual review or produce an EHC Plan for his grandchild Y for several years. He further complained the Council did not involve Y’s mother Ms S in its decision making or provide her with appeal rights and refused to investigate the complaints he raised about this. There was fault when the Council significantly delayed producing a final EHC Plan for Y, failed to invite Ms S to annual review and did not respond appropriately to complaints Mr X raised about this. The Council has agreed to provide a written apology, a £200 financial award and to remind its staff about the importance of keeping to statutory timescales.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to provide evidence it has reminded its staff to keep to statutory deadlines..

  • St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (21 005 590)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 25-Apr-2022

    Summary

    Mrs X and Ms Y complain about the Council’s handling following their uncle’s (Mr Z) death and its failure to inform them when his funeral was taking place. The Council was at fault for not following its own policy and government good practice in this case. This meant Mrs X and Ms Y missed Mr Z’s funeral and he opportunity to pay their last respects. The Council has agreed to apologise and make payment to Mrs X and Ms Y for the significant distress caused. The Council will also issue written guidance to relevant staff, review its Public Health Funeral policy and then publish the policy online, in line with government good practice.

    Service improvements

    Written guidance to relevant staff on importance of obtaining written confirmation that next of kin is not arranging the funeralReview existing public health funeral policy to better align with Government good practice guidanceEnsure public health funeral policy is published online to assist members of the public

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