Overview
The complainant (Mr C) raised a number of concerns on behalf of his elderly mother (Mrs C), regarding a new refuse collection service that was introduced on the Isle of Arran by North Ayrshire Council. Mr C was concerned that no public consultation occurred prior to the change in service and that his mother’s individual needs had not been considered.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council failed to:
- (a) consult prior to changing the refuse collection arrangements (not upheld);
- (b) act on Mrs C’s needs (upheld);
- (c) provide suitable refuse arrangements for Mrs C (upheld); and
- (d) act on advice from Mrs C’s general practitioner (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) carry out a review of their new assisted pull-out policy and consider whether it is appropriate and sufficiently detailed;
- (ii) apologise to Mrs C for their failure to provide her with an appropriate service from the time at which the new arrangements were introduced until her hospitalisation in May 2005;
- (iii) apologise to Mr C for their failure to assess and consider his mother’s individual needs, despite his assertions that she could not use the new service;
- (iv) make a payment of £500 to Mrs C, in recognition of the fact that she was not provided with a service to which she should have been entitled from the time at which the new arrangements were introduced until her hospitalisation in May 2005 and for the time and trouble her son, Mr C, was put to in pursuing a complaint on her behalf; and
- (v) put a system in place to ensure that correspondence received from GPs and other medical professionals on behalf of customers is acknowledged and given due consideration.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.