Council to pay £250 over care concern

Shropshire Council has been ordered to pay a woman £250 after it failed to meet her mother’s need for respite care for another family member.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has upheld a complaint about the council from a woman known only as Miss X.

The ombudsman found the council did not make sufficient efforts to arrange respite care for Miss X’s mother, Mrs Y, who was caring for her other daughter, Miss Z, between April and September 2017 and delayed in chasing up the agreed respite provision between July and September 2018.

The ombudsman ruled that the lack of respite care is likely to have caused Mrs Y increased carer stress.

A spokesman said: “The council has agreed to apologise to Miss X and Mrs Y, and pay Mrs Y £250 to acknowledge the undue stress caused.”

He added: “Miss X’s mother, Mrs Y, is a carer for her other daughter, Miss Z.

“The council has assessed Mrs Y as needing 19 nights respite care a year.

“Miss X complains that since a respite arrangement broke down in March 2017, Mrs Y has only had three nights respite care.

“This has had a negative impact on her health. She wants the council to meet the identified need and provide regular respite care for her mother.

“Miss X’s mother, Mrs Y, provides care for her other daughter, Miss Z. Miss Z has a health condition which causes learning disabilities and challenging behaviour.

“The council completed a carer’s assessment with Mrs Y in March 2015.

“This identified Mrs Y as having eligible support needs. It said Mrs Y needed 19 nights respite care a year to support her in her role caring for Miss Z.

“In January 2017, the established respite arrangement broke down. The respite provider told the Council it could no longer meet Miss Z’s needs.

“In February 2017, Mrs Y attended a meeting for a review of her carer’s assessment.

“However, the council officer left the council without documenting this meeting, so there is no record.

“The council has apologised to Mrs Y and her family for this.”

He added: “When the respite arrangement broke down in February 2017, the council offered Mrs Y the option of respite care in her home.

“Miss X declined this saying Mrs Y would not accept it. The council acted appropriately to offer an alternative respite option to the family and the decision to decline this was Miss X’s choice.

“There is fault in the council’s actions.

“The council has accepted it may have overlooked Mrs Y’s needs whilst pursuing the option of supported living. It has already apologised for this.

“This led to uncertainty for Miss X and her family over whether respite could have been sourced earlier and is likely to have caused increased carer stress for Mrs Y.”