LGO cites important learning points on commissioning after separation of couple

A case where a married couple were separated for 10 months due to a lack of available homecare “provides important learning points for councils changing how they commission care”, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has said.

The local authority involved, Lincolnshire County Council, had agreed contracts with a smaller number of preferred care providers, each solely responsible for delivering all homecare services in their zone. This was in an effort to improve stability in the local market.

However, the newly contracted provider in the woman’s area did not have enough capacity to provide care to meet her needs, the LGO said.

The Ombudsman has asked Lincolnshire to review other families’ cases.

The background to the case was that the man’s wife, who has mobility problems, should have returned home with the help of a care package following a hip operation.

To get the support needed, however, she was placed in a residential home 15 miles away because the council’s contracted providers did not have capacity to care for her.

This meant the husband driving a 30-mile round trip every day to visit, when they both wanted her to return home.

“Even though she did not have the condition, she was placed in a dementia unit for some of the time, being forced to lock her door to prevent other residents wandering in uninvited,” the LGO said.

The Ombudsman found Lincolnshire at fault for allowing the woman to be placed in the dementia unit, and for not revising her care and support plan when her circumstances changed.

The LGO also discovered that other people may have been similarly affected by the council’s contracting arrangements.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “This couple found themselves in the situation of a hospital operation leading to 10 months living apart, because of the lack of care provision available.

“The woman was placed for too long in an unsuitable care environment. She wanted to return home to be with her husband, but instead had no choice but to live with people whose care needs were very different to her own, causing her significant distress."

He added: “Lincolnshire County Council should have reviewed her care and support plan once her circumstances had changed and moved her to a more suitable room sooner.

“Complaints are a learning opportunity. I encourage all councils to look carefully at this report, particularly if they are in the process of reviewing their commissioning models.”

Lincolnshire has agreed to pay the husband £750 and the wife £1,000 to reflect their distress. It will also refund the man’s travel expenses for the 10-month period.

The council has also agreed to the Ombudsman’s recommendation to identify whether others were affected and provide the same remedy to those families if any injustice has occurred.