Council pays compensation after man missed medication

An epileptic man with a brain injury missed medication and trips out of the house because of failings in his care.

Worcestershire County Council has been told to apologise and pay the man and his brother a total of £700 in compensation.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) said the man, referred to in its report as Mr X, missed out on access to the community.

The LGO also said there was evidence of missed medication, inadequate bathing records and of a delay in responding to a complaint by Mr X’s brother, Mr Y.

In 2023, Mr X was living in supported accommodation arranged by the council with a care package in place from a care provider.

But Mr Y raised various concerns about inadequate personal care and a failure to provide drivers for Mr X’s mobility car.

The ombudsman said during this time there were “relatively few occasions on which carers used Mr X’s car to take him out into the community”.

The report says Mr X, who has learning disabilities and an acquired brain injury, was sometimes taken out on the bus and at other times made it clear he didn’t want to go out.

But the LGO said he is likely to have missed out on some activities “and his family had to take him to some appointments”, adding: “That is fault.”

The ombudsman also said the care provider did not always follow its own policy when doses of medication were missed or refused.

“I understand Mr Y’s concern about that given it could have had serious results,” the ombudsman said. “Thankfully it did not in this case.”

The council was told to apologise and pay £400 to Mr X and £300 to Mr Y for the “uncertainty and frustration they experienced”.

It was also asked why it delayed sending Mr Y a complaint investigation report until November 2024 when it had completed the investigation in March of that year.

A council spokesperson said: “The council takes all complaints, as well as investigations and findings from the Local Government Ombudsman, very seriously.

“We have apologised to the family involved in this case, and paid the compensation as determined by the Ombudsman.

“We have undertaken a review of our procedures around the process for securing a mental capacity act assessment to ensure delays are prevented in future. As part of this, we have encouraged relevant staff to refresh their knowledge regarding the process.”