Shropshire Council cleared of wrongdoing over care home dispute

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has dropped its investigation into the actions of Shropshire Council and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust when a man, known only as Mr B, was discharged from hospital to a care home, saying there was no evidence of fault.

The ombudsmen also decided not to investigate the complaint that the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) should have carried out a continuing care assessment as it is unlikely that it would find fault.

Mrs B complained on behalf of her husband, saying SaTH should have undertaken a continuing healthcare checklist (CHC) assessment when Mr B was discharged from hospital. She says Shropshire Council and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust placed Mr B in a care home as a reablement/intermediate placement as further assessments were still needed to decide what the long term care plan for Mr B would be.

She says they should therefore fund the first six weeks of that placement. The ombudsman said: “I have discussed the complaint with Mrs B and her representative and I have considered the documents that they, Shropshire Council and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust have sent and the relevant law, guidance and policies.

“Mr B is an elderly man who suffers from dementia. He was living at home with support from Mrs B and a carer who attended every day.

“The care package was funded privately as Mr B had capital over the threshold.

“Mr B was admitted to hospital on November 25, 2017.

Permanent

“On November 29, 2017, the ICS social worker assessed Mr B and said he lacked mental capacity to decide where he should live when he left the hospital.

“She also carried out a fact-finding assessment and concluded that Mr B needed long term EMI residential care which would be self-funded.”

He added: “The outcome of the best interest meeting was that Mr B needed 24-hour permanent care in a care home.”

Mrs B complained that she should not have to pay the first six weeks fees as she wasn’t told it was a long-term placement. The council and health bodies said it had always been considered a long-term placement.

The ombudsman said: “I find no fault in the actions of Shropshire Council and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust.”

“The evidence shows that a 24-hour residential placement was the long-term plan for Mr B.

“I have read the fact-finding assessment, the mental capacity assessment, the care act assessment and they all support this plan.

“There was no suggestion in any of the documents that this was only a short-term plan or that further assessments were needed to decide the long-term plan for Mr B.

“There was no indication that this was a reablement/intermediate placement.

“I also considered the minutes of the best interest decision. Mrs B and the other attendants all agreed that the decision for Mr B to live in the care home on a long-term basis was in his best interests.”