Ms A complained that Conwy County Borough Council had not properly considered her son’s disability and housing needs. She said that her son’s behaviour was seriously impacted by their current housing situation. Ms A was concerned that the Occupational Therapist had recommended unsuitable future housing because they had not met with her son to assess his needs.
The Ombudsman decided that the Council’s process for deciding if Occupational Therapy assessments should be in-person or completed as a paper exercise, was unclear and could be unfair. The Council’s assessment of Ms A’s son’s needs had relied solely upon written information provided by other professionals and Ms A, but it had also disregarded some of the information provided that Ms A said was important. The Ombudsman said that relying solely on information provided by other professionals may not provide accurate information about the home environment and related needs. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement within one month to apologise to Ms A, arrange an Occupational Therapy assessment with Ms A and her son at home, to review the current system for deciding whether assessments should be in-person and consider the requirement of a producing written guidance.