What’s just happened?
On 27 January 2021 the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman concluded an investigation into a Nottinghamshire County Council pursuant to the Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and s26A(1). [1] [2] [3] It produced a damning report concluding that Nottinghamshire County Council had failed to have any regard for even the most basic human rights of a man living in a care home miles away for his family for 5 months. [4]
The Council had been a major contributor to a series of catastrophic delays in this case. For example, there were delays assessing the man’s care needs, his mental capacity to make a decision regarding where he lives and delayed making a decision in the man’s best interests. In fact, the man’s best interests were blatantly ignored.
Due to these failures the Ombudsman concluded that the man had been made to a stay in the home for far longer than was necessary, incurring eye watering levels of extra debt, somewhere in the region of £15,000 for care fees which he cannot reasonably ever afford to pay. [5] On top of all this, the Ombudsman found the care home cruelly pursued the man’s family for the £15,000 care fees for over a one-year period, even enforcing it using a strong-arm bailiff action. [6] This was at the same time when the man’s family were also caring for their son, who was fighting terminal cancer.
What does this mean?
The aim of the investigation was to make recommendations and improve processes for the wider public. In this case the Ombudsman found faults which caused injustice and made a series of recommendations. The Ombudsman ordered Nottinghamshire County Council to apologise to all parties involved.
In the context of his basic human right to enjoy his home peacefully, the Council was ordered to apologise specifically for failing to consider whether it was necessary and proportionate under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 for the man to remain away from his home for that period of time. [7]
Following the report the Council agreed to apologise and pay the outstanding care home fees. Specifically, it agreed to pay the man’s wife a meagre £500 to acknowledge the distress caused by the situation and his daughter a pitiful £250 to acknowledge her time and trouble in bringing the complaint.
It will remain to be seen how far reaching an impact this investigation will have on the wider care system or how many thousands of hidden victims are having similar experiences to the man in this case.
Historically the Ombudsman are all too often very reluctant to investigate matters such as this or, as seen here, to provide meaningful compensation to victims of these blatant breaches of their rights and wellbeing.
Written by Adam Green
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References
[1] Carey, Adam - Ombudsman criticises council over failure to have regard to human rights of man left in care home away from family for five months (localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk).
[2] Man denied Human Rights because of council delay - Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
[3] Sections 26(1) and s26A(1)Local Government Act 1974.
[4] [6] Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman – Report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – Investigation into a complaint against Nottinghamshire County Council (reference number: 19 015 363) – dated 27 January 2021.
[5] Council had no regard for man’s human rights in leaving him in care home for five months, report finds | Community Care – www.communitycare.co.uk/2021/03/15/council-regard-mans-human-rights-leaving-care-home-five-months-report-finds/.
[6] Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman – Report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – Investigation into a complaint against Nottinghamshire County Council (reference number: 19 015 363) – dated 27 January 2021.
[7] Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950.
Disclaimer: This article (and any information accessed through links in this article) is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.