New adult social care complaint decisions

View online A weekly update on adult social care complaint decisions Please note: our decisions are published six weeks after they are issued to councils, care providers and the person who has made the complaint. The cases below reflect the caselaw and guidance available at the time of issue and the individual circumstances of each case. Staffordshire County Council (22 014 590) Summary: There was a delay in completing a financial assessment which caused avoidable uncertainty about the charge for Mr Y's care. There was also a failure to consider Mr Y's food supplements as a disability related expense, which is not in line with statutory guidance. The Council will apologise, make Mr Y a symbolic payment, offer a repayment plan and review the financial assessment. Lancashire County Council (23 001 360) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care in a nursing home. This is because we could not add to the previous investigations by the organisations involved, further investigation would not lead to a different outcome and we cannot achieve the outcome Mrs E wants, which is for Mr F to move, because a court has directed where he should live. West Northamptonshire Council (23 001 957) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's handling of Mrs X's daughter's care charges and of not reassessing her daughter's care needs. This is because the accepted fault has not caused any significant injustice. In addition, part of Mrs X's complaint is premature as it has not yet completed the Council's complaints procedure. Southampton City Council (23 002 674) Summary: We will not investigate Mrs C's complaint about the Council's refusal to pay the top up fee for the late Mrs D's care home placement. This is because further investigation by us could not provide Mrs C with a different outcome to that she has already received from the Council. Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council (22 009 716) Summary: Ms Y complains on behalf of her sister, Mrs Z, about the Council's decision to change her care and support plan despite there being no change in Mrs Z's assessed needs. We find the Council produced two contradictory support plans in November 2021, one of which did not link to an eligible need and outcome in the corresponding assessment completed earlier that month. The Council will remedy the injustice caused by fault with the actions listed at the end of this statement. Speciality Care (REIT Homes) Limited (22 012 414) Summary: The care provider was at fault in failing to ensure relevant information about the late Mrs X's DNACPR status was given to paramedics: as a result, CPR was performed against her wishes. The consequence of that and of the care provider's late response to the complaint has been considerable distress to her family. Island Court Care Home Limited (22 016 502) Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about an unwitnessed and unexplained injury in a care home. There is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to the Ombudsman, however in any event we could not achieve a meaningful outcome. Guardian Homecare UK Ltd (23 000 693) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the quality of care received from Guardian Homecare. That is because we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. We will also not investigate a complaint about overcharging. That is because Guardian Homecare has already amended the care fees. That remedies any injustice caused. East Sussex County Council (23 001 898) Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint that the Council's decision not to disregard her father's property was wrong. Mrs X can appeal the decision to the Council. Lancashire County Council (22 015 001) Summary: There is evidence of fault by the Council from October 2022, when it failed to properly assess Mr X's care needs. Consequently, his allocated care hours were insufficient to meet all his needs. There is no fault by the Council in the emergency crisis care it arranged for Mr X on his unplanned moved into the Council's area in September 2022. Hampshire County Council (22 017 961) Summary: The Council was not at fault for its consideration of Mrs B's finances when deciding whether she should pay for her care. It was entitled to consider her capital in the way that it did, and it considered Mr B's representations before making a decision in line with the statutory guidance. Leeds City Council (23 000 806) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council considered Mrs B's Disability Related Expenditure (DRE). This is because it is unlikely we would find enough evidence of fault with the actions taken by the Council to warrant an ombudsman investigation. Hampshire County Council (23 002 248) Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X's complaint about information the Council has provided to the Court of Protection in relation to his daughter because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from considering complaints about matters that are being, or have been, considered in court. Surrey County Council (23 002 846) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an application for a Blue Badge because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council. Cornwall Council (22 006 877) Summary: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust did not share or update Mr Y's care plan when it discharged him from Section 3 of the Mental Health Act. That did not cause Mr Y an injustice. But the Trust should take action to reduce that impact on others. Southampton City Council (23 001 323) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's handling of a deferred payment agreement for Mr X's father. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault. Plymouth City Council (22 007 635) Summary: Mr X complained about the Council's handling of his application for a Disabled Facilities Grant for a driveway at his home. We have found fault in the way the Council made its decision to refuse Mr X's application for a grant, causing injustice. The Council has agreed to remedy this by apologising to Mr X, making a payment to reflect the upset caused, offering him a review of its decision and making service improvements. Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council (22 015 911) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the level of care provided to Mrs X's mother by her care home. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused by the faults accepted. Cornwall Council (23 001 078) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of a social worker during their involvement with Mrs X's husband's care planning. This is because an investigation would not lead to any different or worthwhile outcomes. In addition, there is insufficient evidence of fault. Lancashire County Council (23 001 859) Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint about the Council's occupational therapy input in 2020. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late and I see no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now. Mrs X has recently had a further assessment and it is open to her to submit a new complaint to the Council if she is dissatisfied with the outcome. London Borough of Barnet (23 001 864) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a safeguarding incident and enquiry. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome Mr Y is seeking, it is unlikely we would find fault and the complaint is late, without good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate now. We look at individual complaints about local public services and all registerable social care providers in England. We remedy injustice and share learning from investigations to improve services. When we find a council or care provider has done something wrong, we recommend how it should put it right. We are free to use and make our decisions independently. Find out more about us at www.lgo.org.uk Manage preferences or unsubscribe Contact us

 

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