By Charlotte Webster-
Brent Council has been forced to pay compensation to a grandfather following a fall.
The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) found after its investigation that the council had delayed in reviewing the residents’ support package, causing him an ‘avoidable risk of harm”.
The man’s daughter, whose identity has been anonymised, filed a complaint about the council’s handling of his need for support so he could “remain safe in his home.” She claimed it caused both her and her father much distress.
Brent Council has subsequently apologised for their actions, as well as forking out £750 in compensation , split in sums of £250 to the woman for what the LGO referred to as “avoidable distress”, and £500 to her father for the risk of harm caused by the delay.
Due to his age and health conditions, the grandad already had some care and support needs provided.
However, the LGO report said the council should have reviewed the support in place when he was discharged from a stay in hospital following a fall at his home in May, 2021, it “.
When he returned home in early June of that year, he was provided a package of care which involved two care workers visiting him four times a day for an hour at a time.
According to the file, a social worker was informed within a week during a visit that care workers would need to stay “much longer than one hour” to meet her father’s needs and more than the four daily visits “to keep him safe”.
Her father’s Lasting Power of Attorney, did not receive the consent form to complete a health care checklist until July.
In early August, the social worker suggested a live-in carer, as well as four visits from a second carer, to support his personal care needs, but the council arranged for the in-house carer to start at the end of August.
The report stated that Brent Council was “at fault” for not reviewing the care plan in June when it was first identified that carers needed longer to meet Ms X’s fathers’ needs and, had it done so, might have identified earlier that a live-in carer was required.
The LGO inspector added: “Ms X had to repeatedly tell the council about the risks to [her father] when alone at home before the council suggested the live-in care in August. It then took almost a month to put this in place. I, therefore, find the council delayed providing the appropriate level of care and support by two months.”
Ms X had also been calling for a downstairs wet room since 2019 so care workers could “safely support” her father with his personal care. The LGO found “no evidence” that the council considered t
A spokesperson for Brent Council said: “We sincerely apologise for the delays caused to providing the appropriate level of care. We will put in place measures to ensure we learn every lesson needed from this case.
“We have recognised this in paying compensation and are completing the other actions set out by the Ombudsman.”