Man denied Human Rights because of council delay

The man, who has dementia, had been placed in the care home by his wife while she struggled to look after her son who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The family only intended the placement to be temporary, but after two weeks the wife felt she could not cope with the man at home. At the time, Nottinghamshire County Council believed the man could return home with additional care calls. But it did not complete a review or assessment despite his change of circumstances, and did not review or assess his wife’s needs as a carer.

The council also did not complete a mental capacity assessment of the man to find out whether he could understand his situation, make a decision about his care or support, or decide whether he would like to remain in the home. It also failed to assess his capacity to understand and agree to the care home costs.

When the council eventually carried out an assessment five months later, it found he did not have the mental capacity to decide where to live or to make a decision about his finances. Despite this, the family was charged for the man’s care for the time he was in the home – incurring debts of more than £15,000, which the care home has chased them for and threatened bailiff action if they did not pay.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“The man had a right to respect for his family life, and to enjoy his existing home peacefully. But the council did not have any regard for the man’s Human Rights during those five months he was away from his family.

“The council could have identified these problems during its own investigation of the complaint, but it failed to acknowledge the errors and the impact they have caused. However, I welcome the steps the council agreed to take during my investigation, and am pleased it has already started acting on my recommendations to improve its service.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s role is to remedy injustice and share learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the family and has taken over responsibility for paying the outstanding care home fees. It will also pay the wife £500 to acknowledge the distress caused by the situation, and the daughter £250 to acknowledge her time and trouble in bringing the complaint.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to review the reasons for the delay and implement any identified improvements to its service. It will also give relevant staff training on the Human Rights Act.