Summary: Mr B complains the Council has not dealt properly with his social care. The Council has fully upheld his complaint and confirmed there is a waiting list of other people awaiting support. The Council has said it will apologise, refund Mr B any excess payments and support him to employ another personal assistant. The Council has also agreed to pay Mr B £500 for the avoidable distress this caused him and provide a report to the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr B, complains the Council has not dealt properly with his social care because:
• he paid care contributions but has not received a service;
• the Council did not take action about a fly infestation;
• complaint handling – calls not responded to in February 2023.
2. Mr B says he has suffered financial loss, been left isolated, suffered psychiatric problems, not received care and support, missed family events and missed hospital appointments meaning he has been in pain and distress for longer than necessary.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We may investigate matters coming to our attention during an investigation, if we consider that a member of the public who has not complained may have suffered an injustice as a result. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26D and 34E, as amended)
5. 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

6. I spoke to Mr B about his complaint and considered documents he provided. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its response and the supporting documents it provided.
7. Mr B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

What happened?

8. This is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain everything I reviewed during my investigation.
9. Mr B is registered blind. He received help from a personal assistant (PA). Mr B’s personal assistant was paid by a mixture of Direct Payments from the Council and client contributions from Mr B.
10. Mr B’s PA left in May 2021. Mr B continued paying his contributions to the Council to May 2023. Mr B did not receive any care support from a PA from May 2021.
11. Mr B completed assessments with the Council in February 2022 and February 2023, in which the absence of carer support was acknowledged.
12. Mr B complained to the Council that he had not received any care in January 2023. The Council responded in March 2023, fully upholding his complaint.

Analysis

13. The Council fully upheld Mr B’s complaint accepting that:
• There were, “delays in Adult Social Care not providing the follow up in a timely manner to support you with finding a new PA.”
• “It is clear from the assessment that without the support of a PA you would find it difficult to maintain a habitable home, complete household and shopping tasks and attend medical appointments.”
14. The Council’s response to my enquiries confirms that there is a waiting list for reviewing support to other service users.

Action by the Council

15. The Council’s complaint response said:
• It would ensure Mr B was reimbursed for any overpaid charges;
• It apologised for Mr B not being able to attend hospital appointments;
• It apologised for not raising his concerns in February 2023 as a formal complaint and that this caused him further distress;
• It would help Mr B find a PA to support him; and
• It allocated a worker from the Sensory Services team to see if he needed any other equipment/support at home.
16. The Council has identified necessary service improvements as a result of Mr B’s complaint, including:
• The Council now holds meetings to track the current waiting list numbers and monitor progress. As part of this process, we will make contact with individuals on the waiting list for more than 4 weeks and inform them about other ways to contact us if their individual circumstances changes. By taking this approach, the Council is aware of our waiting lists.
17. The Council says it will:
• send an apology letter to Mr B acknowledging the delay in assessing his needs and meeting his identified needs;
• refund Mr B all his excess contribution paid; and
• support Mr B to employ another PA.
18. Mr B has now received support from the Sensory Services team and has been supported to employ another PA from June 2023.
19. I do not consider the remedy offered by the Council to be satisfactory. An apology is insufficient to remedy the avoidable distress caused to him as a result of the delay in assessing his needs and meeting his identified needs.

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Agreed action

20. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused by the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of this decision:
• Apologise to Mr B acknowledging the delay in assessing his needs and meeting his identified needs;
• Confirm Mr B has been refunded of all his excess contributions paid;
• Pay Mr B £500 in respect of his avoidable distress caused by the delay in assessing and meeting his identified needs.
• Provide a report to the Ombudsman showing:
1. What criteria has been used to prioritise dealing with the waiting list.
2. The number of people and how long they have been on the waiting list; and
3. the progress that has been made in reducing the waiting list.
21. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

22. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Mr B. I have now completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman