Council to pay compensation to family after ‘unprofessional’ conduct by care provider

A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report has revealed that a care provider commissioned by Cambridgeshire County Council failed to alert a late woman’s family of her deteriorating health and did not contact medical help.

The Ombudsman found that when the carer heard the news of her client (Mrs X)’s death, she reacted “hysterically”, causing further distress to Mrs X’s family.

The council is to pay £1,500 to each of the woman’s four children in recognition of the distress they suffered as a consequence of the care provider’s actions, and the care provider (Regional care) was suspended from taking new service users, the report revealed.

The suspension has since been lifted, according to the local authority.

The Ombudsman said that Mrs X, who lived on her own, had a number of medical conditions and visits from carers twice a day.

The Ombudsman noted that the care plan commissioned by the council said: “When carers notice any concern they should report to the office or contact the emergency service for help.”

Ms B, one of Mrs X’s daughters was named as the principal contact in case of an emergency.

On 6 January 2022, Mrs X told Ms B on the phone she was in pain but that her carer had visited. Her daughter told her to ring for help, the report said.

Two days later, Mrs X told her daughter she was in a lot of pain in her stomach and back, could not get out of bed and was upset because she could not contact anyone for help. Her daughter persuaded her to call 111 and she was taken by ambulance to hospital.

Mrs X was treated but died in the early hours of 11 January, the Ombudsman revealed.

The report noted that later that day, the carer rang Mrs X’s mobile phone and Ms B answered it. Ms B told the Ombudsman that when she told the carer Mrs X had died, the carer “screamed” and said she would be there in 5 minutes.

The carer arrived at Mrs X’s bungalow shortly afterwards. The Ombudsman heard from another of Mrs X’s daughters (Mrs A) that the carer started “banging on the walls”, “screaming and wailing” and started picking up Mrs X’s clothes and hugging them.

The family said that this behaviour went on for “about 20 minutes”.

Mrs A told the Ombudsman that the carer had told them Mrs X had been “unable to walk properly” on 6 January and had been in “a lot of pain for several days”. The carer said she should have called the doctor or Ms B, the report noted.

The family complained to Regional Care, which said the carer “did not think Mrs X was in a lot of pain” and had therefore not contacted the daughter or a doctor. The company acknowledged that was unprofessional and the carer had been disciplined, the report revealed.

The Ombudsman investigated and concluded that:

• The care provider did not act properly on seeing Mrs X’s signs of pain and failed to call medical attention promptly enough, although it was not possible to say that might have led to a different outcome.
• The care provider failed to produce records in line with the regulations. It was clear carers were simply repeating a formula by rote.
• The carer acted in an exceptionally unprofessional manner. Her response to the news of Mrs X’s death was personally shocking and distressing for Mrs X’s family.
• The council commissioned the care provider and so remained responsible for its actions.

It was concluded by the Ombudsman that the actions of the council’s commissioned care provider “caused injustice to Mrs X’s family”.

Alongside the financial compensation offered to the family, the Ombudsman has revealed that the council had taken the “appropriate action towards improvement of the care providers’ services”, since the investigation.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire County Council said: “Our heartfelt sympathies are with the family regarding their loss. We fully accept the findings of the ombudsman’s report, and we are deeply sorry for the upset caused by the actions of the commissioned care provider, Regional Care.

“We were already working with the provider to review and improve their services. They have made good progress; the suspension has been lifted and we will continue to closely monitor their performance. We have agreed also to pay family members £1,500 each for the distress caused by the actions of Regional Care. We note that the Ombudsman has confirmed that the Council has taken the appropriate action towards improvement of the care providers’ services.

“We would like to reassure our communities that we continually monitor all of our providers and ensure that our and their staff are following good practice to meet the needs of those we support. Where a concern or risk is identified, we will continue to work proactively with the provider to investigate and address it.”

Lottie Winson