Summary: Mr X complained the Council delayed carrying out adaptations required by his mother, Ms Y, to meet her care needs. The Council was at fault for the delay in carrying out the adaptations and for poor communication. It has agreed to apologise to Mrs Y and pay her £3850 to acknowledge the distress, frustration and impact upon Mrs Y’s dignity this caused. It has also agreed to review its procedures.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council has delayed carrying out adaptations required by his mother, Ms Y, to meet her care needs. This has left her without suitable bathing facilities.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the information provided by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him on the telephone. I have considered the Council’s response to my enquiries.
5. I gave Mr X and the Council the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision and considered any comments I received in reaching a final decision.

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What I found

Disabled Facilities Grants

6. Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) are provided under the terms of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Councils have a statutory duty to give grant aid to disabled people for certain adaptations. Before approving a grant, a council must be satisfied the work is necessary, meets the disabled person’s needs, and is reasonable and practicable. Councils will often consult an occupational therapist (OT) to determine what is necessary and appropriate.
7. The law sets out the purposes for which a grant may be given. This includes facilitating access by the disabled occupant to, or providing for the disabled occupant, a room in which there is a bath or shower (or both), or facilitating the use by the disabled occupant of such a facility.
8. A council should decide a grant application as soon as reasonably practicable. This must be within six months of the application. The works should be completed within 12 months of the approval.

COVID-19

9. From March to May 2020, England was in the first of three national lockdowns. People could only leave their home for limited purposes including travelling to and from work, but only where this was absolutely necessary. In May 2020, the Government said people who could not work from home should return to the workplace. In September 2020, the Government announced new restrictions including working from home. A second national lockdown came into force from November to December 2020. The third national lockdown was in place from January to March 2021.

What happened

10. Ms Y has a number of physical health conditions which affect her mobility. She is supported by her husband Mr Y and receives a package of care to provide support with personal care and meal preparation when her husband is at work.
11. In May 2020 Ms Y contacted the Council to enquire about adaptations to her bathroom. Ms Y was no longer able to access the bath or shower and was supported by her husband or care workers to strip wash. The Council advised it would formally assess Ms Y’s needs when covid-19 restrictions were lifted. The Council sent Ms Y a preliminary financial assessment form which Mr Y completed and returned which confirmed a DFG would be provided at no cost to Ms Y.
12. Ms Y contacted the Council in July 2020 requesting an update. The Occupational Therapist (OT) apologised for not contacting her sooner and said they were hopeful visits would resume soon.
13. In early September 2020 an OT visited Ms Y to assess for a level access shower and through floor lift. At that time Ms Y wanted an accessible bath which the OT recorded was not suitable for Ms Y’s needs. They recorded Ms Y said she would discuss this with family.
14. Ms Y contacted the Council again in January 2021 asking about progress with the DFG. The Council advised grants were not currently progressing due to the Covid-19 lockdown but it would be in touch to confirm a date.
15. Ms Y contacted the Council again May and June 2021 as no-one had been in touch. Ms Y called the Council in July 2021. The officer she spoke to advised that the Team Leader, Officer A would contact Ms Y by the end of the week but there was a long waiting list for adaptations. Ms Y did not receive a response and called the Council again. The officer apologised she had not received a response.
16. The records show Ms Y contacted the Council in September and October 2021 requesting an update. In the October call Ms Y reported she understood the Team Leader was looking to arrange a visit with a grants officer as they felt Ms Y’s property may need additional alterations as her condition was deteriorating but she had not heard anything since. Mr Y called the Council in November 2021 also requesting an update.
17. The Council reviewed Ms Y’s care plan in December 2021 and an officer asked the Team Leader to follow up the outcome of the DFG assessment. Ms Y called the Council asking to speak with the Team Leader twice more in December 2021. There is no evidence Ms Y received a response.
18. Mr X complained to the Council in February 2022.
19. In May 2022 the Team Leader met with a Housing OT. They agreed to ask Ms Y to complete a new test of resources and to review Ms Y’s assessment. The OT visited Ms Y in late May and early June 2022 to carry out the housing assessment.
20. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint in late June 2022. It noted there was no contact with Ms Y between late January 2021 and October 2021 and that Mr and Ms Y had contacted the Council on several occasions chasing progress with no evidence of them receiving a response. It noted a meeting took place in early May 2022 between the Housing OT and the Team Leader who agreed Ms Y required a review of her needs at which point the Team Leader sent an update and apology to Ms Y. It accepted there were some unavoidable delays due to Covid-19 but was unable to establish the reason for the communication gaps and in late 2021 and between January and May 2022 and it could not establish why no progress was made until May 2022. It apologised for this and said several learning points regarding communication and been taken forward.
21. Further visits took place in late 2022 to carry out assessments for a through floor lift.
22. In March 2023 Mr X reported the adaptations were now progressing.

Findings

23. Ms Y first contacted the Council to request a DFG in May 2020. The Council carried out an assessment in early September 2020. This initial delay was not fault given the covid restrictions at the time. At that time Ms Y was unsure whether she wanted a level access shower but there are no records to show if this was further discussed or explored with Ms Y.
24. Ms Y contacted the Council in January 2021 to query progress with the adaptations and was advised she would be contacted with a date. This did not happen. There was a covid-19 lockdown between January and March 2021, however there is no evidence the Council took any steps to progress the adaptations until May 2022 at which point it needed to reassess Ms Y’s needs and complete a new test of resources. This delay was fault.
25. It is acknowledged that the covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions it imposed meant a pause in adaptation work. However, even taking this into account the Council has taken far too long to progress Ms Y’s adaptations. This meant Ms Y was without suitable bathing facilities for around 18 months longer than she should have been. This has caused her distress and frustration and impacted upon her dignity. Ms Y received support with personal care from her husband or care workers but without these delays she would have had her care needs met in a more convenient and appropriate way far sooner.
26. Ms Y or her husband contacted the Council five more times between February and October 2021 and on each occasion there is no evidence they received a response. They contacted the Council a further three times in November and December 2021 without response. This poor communication is fault and caused her additional frustration.
27. In her contact with the Council in October 2021 Ms Y referred to speaking with the Team Leader who suggested they would visit with the grants officer. But there is no record of any contact between the Team leader and Ms Y around this time in the Council’s case notes. This failure to keep records is fault.
28. The Council’s complaint response was poor. It acknowledged it was at fault and offered an apology but did not suggest any redress or action it was taking to ensure the swift progression of the request for adaptations moving forward, nor did it identify any specific service improvements to prevent recurrence of the faults in future.

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Agreed action

29. Within one month of the final decision on this complaint the Council has agreed to:
1. write to Ms Y to apologise for the delay in carrying out the adaptations and for its poor communication.
2. pay her £3,600 (£200 a month) to acknowledge the distress, frustration and impact upon Mrs Y’s dignity caused by the delay of around 18 months in carrying out the adaptations.
3. pay her an additional £250 to acknowledge the frustration caused by its failure to respond to her communication.
30. Within two months of the final decision the Council has agreed to review its procedures to ensure:
1. those awaiting adaptations are informed of the likely timescales involved and any possible delays.
2. officers keep in regular contact with all those awaiting a DFG for housing adaptations. It will aim to provide them with an update on progress every two months.
3. officers maintain accurate records of contact with applicants.
31. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

I have completed my investigation. The Council was at fault. It has agreed to remedy the injustice caused and to make service improvements.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman