Gloucestershire council failed woman found in own faeces

The council has apologised to the woman and her ex-partner who left her partly as a result of the lack of support he received with her care

A woman was found covered in her own urine and faeces and was hospitalised after a council ignored professional advice, an investigation has found.

The woman said her carers were given insufficient time to help with her toilet needs and preparing meals placing her at risk of malnourishment.

Local government officials and the Social Care Ombudsman have criticised Gloucestershire County Council.

The council has apologised to the woman and will pay her £2,050.

A representative for the woman who has ME and various other health needs, said the lack of support caused burnout in her partner that contributed to him leaving the relationship and his role as her carer.

Repeated hospital stays

The council has also given her partner an apology for any distress caused.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council decided the woman could eat foods from supermarkets' 'Free From' ranges, despite both the woman's GP and a specialist dietician writing to say that was not the case and her care hours needed to be increased to allow for extra time to prepare her meals.

As a result, the woman was not eating enough and was at risk of malnutrition.

The council also did not provide appropriate night-time care that led to her hospitalisation in October 2019.

She was discharged the next day.

She suffered from extreme incontinence and was hospitalised again several days later, remaining in hospital until January 2020.

Records show the hospital doctor at the time had told social workers she had been found wet from faeces and urine.

Review pledge

The investigation also criticised the lack of communication from the woman's social worker when the woman and her representative made repeated attempts to contact them about her situation.

Ombudsman Michael King said the case was a "prime example" of a council simply not listening to the people involved.

"It failed to take on board information from the woman, her former partner and the medical experts involved in her care," he said.

"I welcome its pledge to carry out a review of its adult social care and complaints processes."

The council has agreed to take on any recommendations, remind staff about their responsibilities under the Care Act, and to share the report with relevant staff and discuss its findings at team meetings.

Councillor Sarah Scott said the council had sincerely apologised.

"We know we could and should have done better," she said.