By Charlotte Webster-
A British local authority shamefully breached the Care Act by failing to meet a disabled man’s eligible need to access the community for 14 months, despite it being set out in his care plan, The Eye Of Media.Com has heard.
Westminster council shamefully fell short of its duties to the the man, who is blind and has other physical health problems. The Council denied him the physical and mental health benefits of getting out for regular walks, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found. Westminster City Council also cut his package after he left hospital in September 2018.
It took a representative from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) he complained to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman’s investigation criticised the council for not including the man’s identified need for support to access the community in his care plan.
Westminster Council has accepted responsibility for the failing and agreed to his recommendations of the Ombudsman, and to apologise and pay him £2,000. The man actually deserves more compensation than this. The Council also promised to review the cases of other blind adults receiving care and support to ensure there is provision in their personal budget to meet any unmet need to access the community.
Following an assessment in April 2018, the man received a care and support plan in August 2018, which provided him with 22.75 hours a week for washing, meal preparation, housework, laundry and shopping. However, no provision was made for the man need for support to access the community.
Had the man’s representative not complained to the ombudsman in August 2019, no action would have been taken. The council reviewed his needs in October 2019, providing him with a 28-hour-a-week package that included three and a half hours a week of support to access the community.
The revelation is a disgrace to Westminster Council, who should never have needed an Ombudsman to highlight those obvious breaches. The payment of £2,000 is not enough to make up for the stress caused to the blind man.