Ms A complained to the Council that it had failed to appropriately assess, and meet the needs of, herself and her partner, Mr B, as carers. The Council contracted an Independent Investigator to undertake a formal Stage 2 investigation which upheld Ms A’s complaint. Ms A complained to the Ombudsman that the Council had failed to take forward the recommended actions from the Stage 2investigation to ensure she and her partner had appropriate assessments and support in place.
During the evidence gathering stage of the investigation, the Ombudsman found that Ms A had a telephone carers assessment completed but had not received a copy of it. Ms A had been provided written information on services available but felt she should have received face to face support to understand it. Ms A’s carers assessment process had been closed when she did not respond following information being provided. Mr B had not been offered a separate assessment and an assumption had been made that Ms A’s assessment had covered the whole family circumstances.
The Council proposed a voluntary settlement. The Council agreed to apologise to Ms A for not providing a copy of the telephone assessment she had and to ensure she had now received a copy. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr B for not offering him a separate assessment in his own right. The Council also agreed to confirm to Ms A and Mr B that they were able to access carers assessments and support, when performing a caring role, and remind them of the contact details to do this. The Ombudsman considered the actions were reasonable and proportionate to resolve the complaint and the investigation was brought to a close.