A woman, who was falsely accused of abusing her sister while she was being looked after in an Essex care home, has been left feeling “like a criminal” a report has found.

The joint report, by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), investigates the roles played by Essex and Suffolk County Councils, North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.

The woman was accused of financial abuse – removing money from her sister’s bank account – and emotional abuse by care-workers. But because the local authorities’ safeguarding investigation, which found no evidence of abuse, was delayed for so long, the woman has not been able to see her sister for three years. No-one from any of the organisations involved has ever told the woman she can visit her sister again and their relationship has now broken down.

The woman’s sister, who has mental health problems, lives in a care home in an area covered by Essex County Council and the North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. This care is funded by Suffolk County Council and so that authority and the role played by the Norfolk and Suffolk Trust, which employed the community psychiatric nurse who contacted the police, has also been investigated.

The woman complained to the ombudsmen that she received a letter from the Norfolk and Suffolk Trust in October 2010 telling her that she was under police investigation and that she should not contact her sister or her care home. But when she contacted the police, officers were not aware of any investigation.

The woman says she does not know whether her sister is aware of the allegations and worries that she might think that she has “just abandoned her”. She adds that the events have “destroyed her relationship with her sister”.

Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman said:

“It is always important that serious allegations like this are properly looked into. However, the poor standards of this investigation, the delays and lack of communication have caused an avoidable rift in this family. The woman involved in the complaint feels she is no longer able to visit her sister and the investigation has created a mistrust on the part of the woman and her sister’s carers.

“While I have no doubt the safeguarding alert was well intentioned, this case should serve as a reminder of the need for sensitivity and good communication when investigating delicate issues.”

To remedy the situation, North Essex Trust and Essex County Council should write to the woman and apologise and jointly pay her £1,000 for the distress caused.

The authorities should also prepare action plans to demonstrate what they are doing to ensure the failings are not repeated.

Norfolk and Suffolk Trust and Suffolk County Council should also write to the woman to apologise and give her £250 jointly for the distress caused for the delays to the investigation and also a further £250 jointly for their poor complaint handling.

The two authorities should also prepare an action plan demonstrating what they have learned and what they plan to do to ensure that the mistakes do not happen again.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Julie Mellor said:

“Allegations of abuse of vulnerable people should be dealt with promptly and efficiently. A catalogue of failures into the safeguarding investigation by these organisations has resulted in two sisters not seeing each other for three years.

“Investigating abuse allegations quickly can avoid distress and prevent family relationships from breaking down.

“We expect the trusts to learn from the issues, apply lessons learned and to ensure the mistakes do not happen again.”

Article date: 23 January 2014