Council to pay out £13k after LGO finds fault with care for disabled man

The Local Government Ombudsman has criticised a county council over faults in the way it handled the care needs of a young man with cerebral palsy.

The young man’s mother, Ms Crown, had complained that Worcestershire County Council had failed to provide them with advice, guidance or support with accessing direct payments to which they were entitled over several years.

Ms Crown claimed that as a result she struggled to meet his needs and there was considerable strain on the family. Her son is completely dependent on the 24-hour care she provides.

An investigation by the Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin, found that there was no evidence of fault in the matter of providing direct payments to Ms Crown.

However, she did conclude that:

• the 2004 assessment of the young man’s needs was deficient
• reviews in 2006 and 2007 were not sent out to him or his mother for signature – “so they had no opportunity to challenge the council’s impression of their caring arrangements”, and
• carer’s assessments were not offered to the mother for three years between 2004 and 2006.

The LGO recommended that Worcestershire pay £9,000 to the mother “to reflect the lost opportunity for her to receive more support in caring for her son”.

The council has accepted the recommendation and will pay the sum on top of the £4,000 it has agreed to pay to reflect the son’s own suffering and inconvenience.

The Ombudsman said it would not have been appropriate for the remedy to be the refund of the direct payments Mr Crown might have received between 2003 and 2008.

“I say this because I cannot conclude with certainty that Mr Crown would have accepted direct payments for all or part of his care had his needs been assessed differently in 2004,” she said.

“Whilst I recognise that both Mr Crown and Ms Crown now say that they would have accepted direct payments for all of his care from 2003, I have to take into account the consistent assessment record that they were happy to continue with the arrangements and the fact that the 2007 carer’s assessment, which was properly conducted, did not result in the Council offering anything other than an additional period of respite care.”

Dr Martin said she was pleased to note that direct payments were now in place.

She added: “This young man’s mother has cared for her son over many years, whose best interests have been her foremost concern. I also recognise the considerable sacrifices she and her family have made.”

The LGO said the case highlighted how important it was “for local authorities to ensure these crucial services are properly managed”.