City of York Council has agreed to review its handling of an elderly care plan for a vulnerable couple after a rebuke from the sector’s ombudsman.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) found the authority failed to adequately monitor an ongoing care plan and did not always follow correct safeguarding procedures after an agency agreed to provide regular care to an elderly couple.
From 2020, the couple were supposed to receive five visits a day from agency staff. But the couple’s son raised concerns after their condition deteriorated and the mother was found wandering out of her property alone – leading to safeguarding concerns. The complainant argued that agency staff were not attending to the couple at agreed times.
The council accepted it did not follow correct procedures for some safeguarding concerns and has agreed to review case files to determine whether compensation is due.
The council acknowledged 'the avoidable uncertainty the council’s faults around care planning and safeguarding caused [the complainant].'
This article originally appeared on The MJ (£).
