Overview:

Key to names used

• Ms X - the complainant

Summary

Ms X complained the Council delayed completing a social care assessment, issuing a care and support plan and putting in place funding to meet her care and support needs.

Finding

Fault found causing injustice and recommendations made.

Recommendations

The Council must consider the report and confirm within three months the action it has taken or proposes to take. The Council should consider the report at its full Council, Cabinet or other appropriately delegated committee of elected members and we will require evidence of this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 31(2), as amended)

We recommend the Council:

• apologises to Ms X for the avoidable distress and frustration caused by the delay in assessing her social care needs, completing a care and support plan and agreeing a direct payment. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology;
• pays Ms X £3,000 to recognise the avoidable distress, frustration and loss of care and support;
• devises and implements written guidelines for prioritising cases for social care assessments; and
• instructs officers in adult social care to offer clients with unmet eligible care and support needs an interim care package to meet their needs before closing a case and/or before resubmitting it to the Internal Quality Assurance Meeting.

The Council has accepted these recommendations.

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