Vulnerable man wrongly had care ended - ombudsman

A vulnerable man was caused "distress and uncertainty" after he was left without care for three months when a west London council wrongly cut his support, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has ruled.

Hillingdon Council withdrew care for the man, named only as Mr B in the report, after deciding he did not need it.

It has made a "symbolic payment of £300" for causing distress to the man, who has a learning disability.

Hillingdon Council said: "We accept the decision of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and have met all the agreed actions in its report."

The ombudsman said that Mr B was receiving seven hours of weekly care, including help with meals, housework, shopping and appointments.

In August 2023, he told the council he was being bullied by a resident in his shared house. Shortly after the report, the council was told by his carers that Mr B could get to the shop himself, make a simple meal and sometimes cancelled care.

In May 2024, Hillingdon Council reassessed Mr B's care needs, and found that he had some difficulties saying words, memory problems, and could not always understand things said to him.

The council said it was unclear whether Mr B had been diagnosed with a learning disability.

It added that Mr B could give them all the information needed and decided he did not need carers to help. His care was ended in June.

In August, a learning disability assessment confirmed Mr B had a learning disability, an extremely low working memory, and some problems working things out. It also found he needed help to learn new things.

The council reassessed Mr B again in September and reinstated his care, stating: "Hillingdon Council can now understand how his learning disability affects him."

The ombudsman found that the diagnosis of a learning difficulty was not needed to find out whether Mr B had care needs.

The ombudsman said: "The council's failure to meet Mr B's care needs from mid-June to mid-September, is fault. This caused Mr B distress and uncertainty. It meant he did not have the support he needed."

A spokesperson for Hillingdon Council said: "We have apologised to and compensated the complainant for the faults it highlighted. As an organisation, we regularly review internal processes, such as how we assess eligibility of care, to ensure we best serve residents and meet their needs."

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