Service improvements

West Sussex County 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 - 10 of 11 cases with service improvements

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

  • West Sussex County Council (22 003 256)

    Category: Education Date: 22-Feb-2023

    Summary

    Miss X complained about the Council’s actions when it made enquiries into the home education she was providing to her son, and it was trying to get him to return to school. We found fault with the Council as it incorrectly communicated some parts of the process to her and did not appropriately consider relevant medical information before deciding to proceed with a School Attendance Order. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to remedy the injustice caused and action to prevent recurrence of fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council will send written reminders to all staff within the Elective Home Education and Children Missing Education teams to ensure they remind themselves of the Department for Education’s Elective Home Education: guidance for local authorities. Section 6 in particular states what councils should do when it is not clear that home education is suitable.The Council will ensure reminders to staff should highlight the need for officers to consider if it is expedient for a child to attend school and consider their individual circumstances in relation to Elective Home Education. This learning should also be kept in mind when communicating the process to individual parents.

  • West Sussex County Council (22 000 723)

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

    Summary

    There was fault by the Council. It gave confusing advice to Mr Y and his family about his care costs. The Council’s shortcomings caused the family distress and also meant they lost the opportunity to consider whether they should arrange Mr Y’s care differently.

    Service improvements

    The Council will share this decision with relevant staff.

  • West Sussex County Council (21 018 292)

    Category: Education Date: 19-Sep-2022

    Summary

    Mrs J complains on behalf of son (Child A) who has special educational needs. She says the Council unlawfully refused to assess him for an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP). Further, Mrs J complains that once the Council eventually did so, the assessment process was flawed, delayed and led to an unsuitable EHCP being maintained for Child A. Mrs J also complains the Council is failing to provide her son with a suitable education and is not meeting his EHCP provision following him no longer attending his educational setting. We found the Council delayed in issuing Child A with an EHCP which meant the support he needed was also delayed. Further, we found significant delays in the Council’s complaint handling responses to Mrs J. We do not have the legal jurisdiction to investigate any other matters because these are waiting to be heard in tribunal proceedings. That said, the fault identified in this statement has caused a serious injustice to Mrs J and Child A. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to remedy this.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its complaint handling responses against itsown written policy timeframes and determine what steps are required to ensurecompliance with this going forward.The Council will also review its compliance with issuing EHCP’s in accordance with the Regulations and adopt measures to prevent delays occurring.

  • West Sussex County Council (21 014 125)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 09-Jan-2023

    Summary

    Ms Y complains about the care her mother, Ms C, received at a care home commissioned by the Council. Ms Y says the Home did not isolate Ms C from other residents when there was a Covid-19 outbreak. She says Ms C caught the virus, following which her health deteriorated. Ms Y complains about how the Home managed Ms C’s food and fluids after it identified she was near end of life and that it applied its visitation policy inconsistently. We find fault in how the Home managed Ms C’s care during the Covid-19 outbreak. We do not find fault in the Home’s decisions around food and fluids but have found fault in the records for four days. We have not found fault in how the Home applied its visitation policy.

    Service improvements

    Provide evidence the Home has sent a reminder to its nursing and care staff of the need to ensure clear records, where a fluid intake chart is in use. The chart should record all occasions staff offered or encouraged fluids, and when this was refused. If the chart shows the person has not reached their target intake for the day, this should be recorded along with any reasons. Any interventions or medical advice should be recorded in the hydration care plan.

  • West Sussex County Council (21 012 744)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 17-Aug-2022

    Summary

    We found no fault by the Council and Integrated Care Board in terms of the Section 117 aftercare they provided to Mrs Y. However, we found the Council, Trust and ICB delayed significantly in carrying out a Section 117 review. They will apologise and pay Mr X a financial remedy in recognition of the distress and frustration this caused. The Council, Trust and ICB will also review their policies and procedures to prevent similar problems occurring in future.

    Service improvements

    The Council, Trust and ICB will review their Section 117 policies and procedures to ensure these are compliant with the Mental Health Act 1983 and the accompanying Code of Practice. Specifically, this review should ensure the revised policies and procedures provide clear guidance for staff on where the statutory duty for arranging and providing Section 117 aftercare lies. The Council, Trust and ICB should consult with each other as part of this review ro ensure their revised policies are clear and consistent.The Council, Trust and ICB will write to the Ombudsmen with the outcome of this review and provide copies of the revised policies and procedures.

  • West Sussex County Council (21 012 375)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 17-Jul-2022

    Summary

    Mrs X complained, on behalf of her mother Mrs Y, about the poor standard of care provided to Mrs Y by a Care Home. We found the Council at fault. We recommended it apologise to Mrs X and Mrs Y, pay Mrs X £500 for distress, pay Mrs Y £700 for distress, and act to prevent recurrence.

    Service improvements

    The Council will check the Care Home has a process in place to ensure it acts quickly and appropriately when a resident refuses support including, considering an increase in provision or giving notice, notifying the Care Quality Commission and raising a safeguarding alert.The Council will provide training or issue guidance to Care Home staff to ensure they escalate concerns about residents' health appropriately.

  • West Sussex County Council (21 010 987)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 19-Apr-2022

    Summary

    There was fault in how the Council considered a Blue Badge application. The Council had already addressed the injustice this caused to the complainant, by offering her a face-to-face mobility assessment, but it has now also agreed to review other recent decisions it has made, to determine whether other applications were affected by the same fault.

    Service improvements

    Within three months of the date of my finaldecision, the Council has agreed to conduct a review of a sample of its BlueBadge decisions over the past 12 months. The review should seek to identify ifthere has been a similar, systematic fault with its desk based assessments ofapplications, and if so, how many decisions this has likely affected. TheCouncil should then decide an action plan on the best way to resolve theinjustice to the affected applicants.

  • West Sussex County Council (21 010 869)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 15-Jun-2022

    Summary

    Mrs C said the Council delayed in carrying out a financial assessment of her contributions towards her adult social care. The Council was at fault for delay. This caused Mrs C injustice in that she faced stress and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to pay Mrs C a sum in recognition of this injustice.

    Service improvements

    The Council was at fault for errors made during a financial assessment of the complainant's contribution towards the cost of her social care. There was unnecessary delay and it made demands for payment and a threat of legal action when an appeal was pending. The Council has agreed that, within two months of the date of the decision, it will review its processes to find ways of ensuring that: a) It does not send demands for payment when an appeal is pending, b) It does not make similar miscalculations in future, and c) communication both within the department and with customers improves. The Council has agreed that it will then write to the Ombudsman setting out changes it has made or intends to make to improve its service in these areas.

  • West Sussex County Council (21 009 958)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 12-May-2022

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council charged her wrongly for non-residential care. The Council did not charge Mrs X correctly and in good time, or properly explain what the charges were for. This resulted in avoidable financial loss, distress, and confusion, for which the Council agreed to pay a financial remedy to Mrs X. It will also review the information it provides when arranging non-residential care.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review the information it provides when arranging non-residential care, to ensure people are aware of any applicable cancellation notice periods before their care begins.

  • West Sussex County Council (21 008 944)

    Category: Education Date: 09-May-2022

    Summary

    Ms C complained the Council failed to ensure her son, who has special educational needs, received an education in accord with his Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). We upheld the complaint finding the Council failed to adequately address Ms C’s repeated concerns on this point over several months. There was also unnecessary confusion and delay following a review of the EHCP. The faults caused injustice to Ms C in the form of distress, expenses and time and trouble and resulted in some loss of provision for her son. The Council accepts these findings and at the end of this statement we explain the action it has agreed to remedy this injustice.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed that it will issue a reminder to relevant staff on: the importance of due diligence in ensuring that it makes adequate checks where a parent says a child is not receiving education in line with their Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP); the Council must be clear with the parent about its understanding of the requirements of the EHCP and must also be clear with the school about those requirements and ensuring they are met; and clarifying within four weeks of a review whether the Council intends to maintain, amend or end an EHCP.

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