The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complains the Council was at fault in the way it continued to provide social care services to him, so he has not been receiving the support he needs causing distress. We found no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered these matters. So we have completed our investigation.
The complaint
I have called the complainant Mr X. He complains there are failings in the way the Council has continued to provide social care services to him. In particular Mr X says the Council has failed to: ensure he receives appropriate social work support.
respond appropriately to safeguarding referrals made about him.
provide him with physical and mental health support.
help Mr X make a social housing application.
help him find appropriate financial support; and to revise a Needs Assessment it previously carried out on him due to a change in his family circumstances.
Mr X says this has caused him distress and had a detrimental impact onto his mental and physical health needs.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I have read the papers submitted by Mr X and spoken to him about the complaint. I considered the Council’s comments on the complaint and the supporting documents it provided.
Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
Summary of the relevant law and guidance Sections 9 and 10 of the Care Act 2014 require local authorities to carry out an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support. They must provide an assessment to all people regardless of their finances or whether the local authority thinks an individual has eligible needs. The assessment must be of the adult’s needs and how they impact on their wellbeing and the results they want to achieve. It must also involve the individual and where suitable their carer or any other person they might want involved.
The Mental Health Act 1983 sets out when a person can by law be admitted, detained and treated in hospital against their wishes.
A person can be detained in hospital under section 2 of the Act for assessment and for treatment after the assessment. A person can be kept in hospital under section 2 for a maximum of 28 days. Before the person is discharged, a social care assessment should take place to see if they have any social care needs the council should meet.
Background to the complaint Mr X has complained to us previously (20 014 214). In the complaint Mr X said the Council delayed carrying out an adult social care assessment of his needs following his request in October 2019 due to a decline in his mental health. And when completed in January 2021 it did not accurately reflect his needs or provide necessary support. Mr X said it meant he did not have support for his physical needs and with his housing situation. We found fault by the Council in the way it responded to Mr X when he first approached it for an assessment and dealt with his complaint. We recommended a compensation payment to Mr X to remedy the injustice caused to him. The Council agreed to the recommendation. We did not find any fault in the way the Council carried out the needs assessment or considered Mr X’s housing situation.
Mr X’s complaint is a continuation of his previous concerns. But I am only considering issues from July 2021. The previous complaint investigation considered matters up to that date. Mr X’s concerns about his housing situation are also subject to a separate complaint investigation.
What happened Mr X was living in a house in multiple occupation. Mr X suffers with mental health conditions and has physical health conditions including epilepsy. Mr X has an allocated mental health worker from the Council. The Council sent Mr X a copy of his revised care needs assessment in July 2021. The Council contacted Mr X as it had a possible property available for him and funding for a deposit, but Mr X declined the offer.
In July 2021 the Council considered Mr X’s consent to continue working with his allocated social worker varied and its attempts to support him unsuccessful. The Council received a safeguarding referral from NHS 111 about Mr X. This referred to his allegations of financial abuse by his landlord as they were in dispute over matters at his accommodation. Mr X refused to engage when a Council duty mental health social worker made contact. So, the Council closed the referral and told Mr X of its decision.
The Council ended Mr X’s allocated social worker contact as he did not want to continue working with the mental health social care team and it had completed his care needs assessment. In August 2021 Mr X made contact again about his mental health. The Council responded and arranged a mental health act assessment due to concerns about Mr X’s mental health, safety, and non-engagement. The assessment found Mr X did not need hospital inpatient treatment and so he was not detained. The Council closed the referral and told Mr X of its decision.
Mr X contacted a mental health duty social worker in October 2021 asking for support as he was at risk of eviction from his accommodation and becoming homeless. Mr X had been in contact with the Council’s Housing Solutions team. The duty social worker advised Mr X not to ignore options given to him by Housing Solutions.
In November 2021 the Council received a safeguarding referral from the Police about alleged abuse from Mr X’s landlord. The Police made a welfare check on Mr X who advised he was seen regularly by the Council’s mental health team and due a visit that day. The Police reported no immediate concerns for his welfare. A mental health social worker contacted Mr X who said he had an upcoming appointment for his mental health. The Council decided it could not act on Mr X’s allegation about his landlord as it was a civil matter so closed the referral.
The Council allocated Mr X a mental health social worker in December 2021 to continue providing advice and signposting support.
In January 2022 the Council received a safeguarding referral from Mr X’s GP. This referred to institutional abuse and neglect by health and social services and emergency services because of Mr X’s expectations not being met. The Council managed Mr X’s views on mental health social care. It decided to close the referral as its health and social care services had made many attempts to engage with Mr X but found him uncooperative.
Mr X’s mental health social worker supported Mr X to attend an appointment with his psychiatrist in February 2022. Mr X became verbally abusive and physically threatening before leaving the appointment. Mr X was warned about his behaviour.
In March 2022 the Council told Mr X it was ending his social worker allocation because he was not finding the input helpful. The Council later received information about threats made and actions taken by Mr X. The Council arranged a mental health act assessment of Mr X in March 2022. But he was not considered to need hospital inpatient treatment.
During April 2022 the Council responded to Mr X’s concerns he was about to be evicted from his accommodation. Mr X had no alternative accommodation, so the Council reassigned him a mental health social worker to assess his needs due to his change in circumstances. The Council contacted Mr X’s landlord to request he not be evicted until he found alternative accommodation.
The Council received a safeguarding referral about the actions of Mr X’s landlord and a debt collector against him. Mr X’s mental health social worker investigated the matter. The Council advised Mr X to refer his concerns to the Police as it was a civil matter. The Police viewed video evidence of the incident and decided not to take the matter further.
Mr X also raised concerns about his needs assessment and requested it be revised. This was due to the death of a family member and Mr X’s religious obligations towards his family. Mr X said he could not fulfil his obligations due to his mental health. The Council responded to Mr X’s concerns and advised him of suitable support agencies.
Mr X told the Council he wished to move to a different London Borough I will refer to as Borough B. Mr X’s mental health social worker contacted relevant services at both councils to support Mr X. A further mental health act assessment on Mr X in June 2022 found he was not in need of hospital treatment.
Analysis Advice and support offered to Mr X from July 2021 The Council confirms Mr X has been advised about support available to him to access alternative housing and mental health treatment from a mental health outpatient service provided by a London NHS trust. But says unfortunately, Mr X refuses to engage with services in a meaningful way.
The Council’s mental health social worker is currently supporting Mr X to access housing with Borough B and completing a new care act assessment. The Council also contacted Mr X’s landlord to ask him not to evict Mr X immediately despite a court order allowing the landlord to do so. This will enable the Council to make continued efforts to help him access alternative housing. Borough B are assessing Mr X but still to confirm if it accepts a housing duty towards him.
Social housing application The Council confirms its social workers have provided extensive support to Mr X to enable him to access and engage in support from both this council and Borough B. Mr X wishes to be given social housing in Borough B, but it could be challenging as Mr X has been resident in its borough since October 2019. So, Borough B may consider it has no duty to do so. The Council is also unaware if Borough B is responsible for Mr X’s current accommodation.
Since issuing the draft decision statement on Mr X’s complaint, Borough B has now provided Mr X with accommodation.
Failure to revise his Needs Assessment The Council reports Mr X’s family circumstances changed before it completed the assessment. However, it was revised in July 2021 and noted Mr X’s change in circumstances. The Council advised Mr X to engage with the mental health team and signposted him to appropriate support agencies. The needs assessment considered how Mr X managed his personal relationships and noted his limited contact with his family. The Council is however, currently completing a new care act assessment.
Failure to act on safeguarding referrals The Council confirms safeguarding referrals included Mr X’s epilepsy, request for an epilepsy alarm, help and support due to his mental health and financial and other abuse caused by his landlord’s activities. The Council considered the referrals. It advised Mr X to discuss an epilepsy alarm with his GP as the Council does not provide this type of equipment through its careline services.
The Council confirms Mr X made several allegations against his landlord which were all considered. The evidence available to the Council suggests Mr X’s landlord has lawfully evicted him from his accommodation.
Physical and mental health The Council says the care needs assessment by a mental health social worker will include Mr X’s physical needs. It considers his primary need is for his mental health and not physical health. Mr X is known to secondary mental health services. The Council recognises Mr X may also be suffering from physical health problems too, but it is not possible to allocate two social workers to assess his needs. The Council does not consider it a reasonable use of its resources.
Help to access financial support The Council confirms it supported Mr X in 2021 to access a scheme to pay for a deposit to rent privately but Mr X declined this. In terms of accessing a grant to enable him to buy a new computer the Council says Mr X already has computer access and extensive electronic contact with local health and social care services. It has previously advised him the information he needs is available via a range of services he is already in contact with, such as the job centre.
My assessment
The documents provided show the Council has continued to provide advice and support to Mr X from July 2021. And he has been allocated a mental health social worker on occasions during this time. The current social worker is providing support to Mr X to make a social housing application. There is no evidence to show the Council has failed to provide appropriate advice and support to Mr X.
The evidence also shows the Council received safeguarding referrals about Mr X. It considered each one and recorded a decision whether it needed to any action or not. The Council then acted if appropriate such as referring Mr X for a mental health act assessment.
The Council confirms the mental health social worker can also assess the physical support Mr X may need in the new care assessment. The Council says it will not allocate Mr X a separate social worker to assess physical support for resource reasons. Mr X may not agree but it is for the Council to decide how best to use its resources.
The Council has previously revised Mr X’s care assessment. It considered Mr X’s request to change the assessment due to change in family circumstances. The Council did not consider it necessary to revise the assessment again and gave Mr X advice on bereavement support. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision as it considered Mr X’s concerns and explained its reasons to him. However, the Council is now carrying out a new care needs assessment. This will be an opportunity for Mr X to put forward any new concerns he may have including his family obligations. And, about any support he considers may be needed which the Council can consider.
Final decision
I am completing my investigation. I have found no evidence of fault in the way the Council has continued to provide social care support to Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman