Bolton Council refers to dead man by wrong name in apology letter

Bolton Council wrote to the man's partner to apologise for faults in his care but used the wrong name

A council referred to a dead man by the wrong name in an apology letter about his care which was also delivered late, an ombudsman has found.

Complaints had been made about care provided by Bolton Council after the man was discharged from hospital.

These included carers not turning up and carers not getting help quickly when he did not answer the door. He later died.

The council said it was sorry for the distress caused.

It added that measures had been put in place to prevent similar incidents.

A published report refers to the man in question as Mr Z and his partner Ms Y.

The complaints also included failing to make adaptations to his home or provide the right equipment, the council not helping him with a housing application and carers not visiting meaning he missed meals.

The ombudsman found "fault causing injustice" to Ms Y, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Bolton Council was ordered to write a letter of apology and pay Ms Y £250.

'Disappointing'

Both were due by 30 June 2022 but were not received until 22 July 2022 and the letter referred to Mr Z by someone else's name.

The ombudsman said: "We expect councils to carry out the agreed actions within the timescales set out in our final decisions.

"The council has now provided evidence to show it has satisfied the agreed actions but it is disappointing it did not do so until we had registered a new complaint".

Another written apology from the council has been ordered and it must pay Ms Y a further £250 for the wrong name.

Bolton Council said it had "listened carefully" to the findings and "apologised to everyone involved in this case for the distress caused".

"As an organisation, we take every opportunity to learn and improve the services we deliver for our residents," it added.