Decision Report 201802641

Summary

Mrs C complained that the partnership's assessment of her father's (Mr A) care needs was unreasonable and that subsequent care package offered was inadequate. Mrs C contacted the partnership to request that Mr A be assessed for residential care as she considered his health had deteriorated significantly. An assessment was carried out and it was deemed that Mr A's needs could be met in the community. The partnership offered home care, day care and befriending services. Mrs C declined this offer as she felt that the support offered was not adequate and that Mr A required to be in a care home.

We took independent advice from a social work adviser. We found that the partnership's assessment of the risks to Mr A were underestimated and that the risks should have been categorised as substantial rather than moderate or low. We also found that the partnership underestimated the opinion of Mr A's GP and that his needs and risks should have been assessed as substantial. We considered that the assessment of need and subsequent care and support offered was unreasonable. Therefore, we upheld both of Mrs C's complaints.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to Mrs C for the distress caused to her and her family. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at www.spso.org.uk/leaflets-and-guidance.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• The partnership should ensure that staff reflect and learn from the findings of this investigation. In particular, staff should ensure that the family and service user's view are adequately weighted.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.