The council also apologised for the time it took to complete a carer’s assessment for the girl’s mum
A South London council has apologised for delays in progressing a girl’s care assessment.
Wandsworth Council admitted there had been an “unreasonable delay” in carrying out the assessment, while it had also delayed completing a carer’s assessment for her mum. The daughter is referred to as Miss X and the mum as Miss Y in the report.
A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report found the council began a care assessment for Miss X in January last year, but it was not until that April that it met her and her mum to discuss a proposed support plan.
Her mum complained about the delay and that the plan did not properly meet her daughter’s needs.
In response, the council apologised for the delay, which it said was due to staff absence, and the time taken to complete a carer’s assessment for the mum. It confirmed they had been allocated a new social worker who could discuss the proposed support plan with them.
The council later accepted there had been an “unreasonable delay” in completing the daughter’s care assessment, but said she had since declined for the authority to arrange services on her behalf. It completed the carer’s assessment for the mum in September.
The report said: “The council has accepted there were delays in progressing Miss X’s assessment and apologised for this. Delay in completing an assessment and moving matters forward amounts to fault.
“However, the council has since allocated a new social worker and confirmed Miss X has eligible needs. The evidence shows Miss X has declined support from the council to meet those needs. The council cannot require an adult with capacity to accept services.
“In these circumstances, while there was delay, I do not find Miss X has lost care provision as a result of that delay because she has chosen not to accept council-arranged support. The council’s apology and steps taken to prevent further delay are a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused by the delay itself.”
Wandsworth Council was contacted for comment.
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