Weather
Council rap for 'letting down' disabled OAP
From the archive, first published Thursday 9th Mar 2006.
Blackpool Council failed to act on a `catalogue of complaints' about a private care company which was 13 hours late visiting a 79-year-old double amputee.
The woman, who died eight days later, was `badly let down' by the council, according to a damning report by the local government ombudsman, Anne Seex.
The 79-year-old woman, known in the report only as `Miss King,' also suffered from generalised arthritis, diabetes and was hard of hearing. She was found on the floor of her home on the day of the missed visit, March 30 2003, and admitted to hospital.
"She had presumably gone much of the day without food or water," said Mrs Seex. "It appears likely that her accident arose from the failure of carers to visit her.
"She was the type of person the council should have had in mind had it acted properly to protect service users," said Ms Seex. "Miss King was badly let down by the council and its provider."
The private company, which no longer works with Blackpool Council, had been the subject of 46 complaints between June and November 2002, the report found.
The ombudsman has asked Blackpool Council to waive a £849 home care charge requested from Miss King's niece, identified only as Mrs Lloyd, who pursued the complaint. Mrs Lloyd will also receive £500 for her work to put together the complaint, pay £1,000 to Miss King's estate and put in place some kind of tribute to her within six months.
The report also recommends an urgent review of the council's care plans.
The council said it accepted the finding of maladministration and had already implemented many of the recommendations in the report.
Director of social services, Steve Pullan, said, "I am sorry that our contractor and the system failed this family. Steps have been taken to create more robust systems but keeping vulnerable people at home, where they want to be, will always entail some degree of risk. However Blackpool Council will do everything it can to minimise those risks."
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
