What now for deprivations of liberty?
What will the effect of the postponement of the Liberty Protections Safeguards be on local authorities? Local Government Lawyer asked 50 adult social care lawyers for their views on the potential consequences.
SPOTLIGHT |
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised a London borough for failing to carry out adequate assessments of the support a disabled mother needed when her young son moved from nursery to school.
The mother, who has physical and mental health needs, takes strong medication and is in chronic pain, lives with her young son. She has no family or friends in the area to help with her fluctuating needs in an emergency, the LGO said.
An investigation by the Ombudsman found Ealing Council at fault for:
Ealing provided a nursery place for the son, supported by a care agency to get him there, which he often attended till 6 pm. However, the council did not reassess the family when the boy moved to primary school, so there was no respite after school finished at 3 pm.
The care agency meanwhile said it could not guarantee it could get the son to school on time, so the mother investigated other arrangements.
She told Ealing that a child-minder had agreed to take the boy to school and look after him afterwards. The council agreed she could use her direct payments to fund this.
However, the council did not put enough money into her account to cover both the child minder’s fees and those of the care agency which looked after her needs. This contributed to a debt to the agency of around £17,000.
Following the investigation, Ealing has agreed to:
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “The problems in this case stemmed from the council not assessing properly whether the mother’s needs had changed when her son started school. It was entirely predictable that they would do, and the council should have foreseen this.
“There is doubt over whether the mother’s – and her young son’s – needs have been met properly over the period, and whether the debts she has accrued have been exacerbated by the situation.
“I welcome the commitment the council has since made to implement the remedies I have recommended.”