Ombudsman calls for “more compassion” and “human touch” in approach to end-of-life care by councils and care homes

In a report the Ombudsman highlighted the most common failures seen in the complaints it receives, including “poor communication with families, inadequate care plans, services not working together, insensitive handling of death notifications, difficulties around visiting, and unfair charges after death”.

According to the report, the cases include families not called in time to say goodbye, a daughter learning of her mother's death before anyone offered condolences, and a woman who discovered her cousin had died over a year earlier, her grave “unmarked and overgrown”.

In light of the common failures by councils and care providers, the report sets out what families have a right to expect:

• To be kept informed as a loved one's condition changes;
• To be treated with warmth and honesty;
• To have the person they love cared for as an individual, with their own wishes and preferences respected;
• When the worst happens, to receive the news with the sensitivity and compassion it deserves.

The Ombudsman observed that the actions do not require “significant extra resources or investment”. They simply need “more compassion and a human touch”.

The report includes practical guidance and self-review questions for councils and care providers on end-of-life care.

Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Most of us will face the death of someone we love. How that experience unfolds – whether we feel informed, included and treated with kindness, or left confused and shut out – becomes part of how we remember that person and how we grieve them. Those memories do not fade.

"We know that the people working in care homes and councils want to do their best for the people they look after. This report is for them. It is a practical guide to help them ask honestly: could every family we work with look back on this time with as much comfort as possible?

"The changes we are asking for do not require significant new investment. They require compassion, good planning, and a genuine commitment to treating every dying person as a human being with people who love them. There is only one chance to get this right. We want to help the sector take it."

Lottie Winson