Somerset Council pays £3k over 'inadequate' autistic care

Somerset Council has apologised over the lack of proper care the man received

A council has been told to pay the family of an autistic man £3,000 after it failed to provide him proper care.

The man, known as Mr C, was placed at the Grove Court facility in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, which is run by Lifeways.

Mr C's family complained, claiming Lifeways had failed to provide Mr C with adequate care.

Somerset Council, which commissioned the care, has apologised for the "distress" caused.

Grove Court is advertised as a "specialist supported living service", designed to allow people to live as independently as possible.

Mr C, who has autism and "complex health problems", moved there in March 2020.

The council had completed an assessment of Mr C's needs, which Lifeways said it would meet, and a bespoke support plan was put in place.

'Increased my anxiety'

Mr C complained that the mainly female support staff "did not share his interests" and changed on a daily basis, which "increased his anxiety and triggered behaviour", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

He also claimed Lifeways did not provide adequate support, forgetting to remind him to have a daily wash, not helping him cook meals, and "ignoring professional and family advice" about his care needs.

Lifeways said Mr C did not always allow staff to enter his flat, that they supported him with microwaveable meals, and reminded him about regular appointments and meetings.

After a member of the public found him "lying in the middle of the road", Lifeways gave Mr C 28 days' notice to leave, feeling it could not keep other residents and its staff safe from him.

During this 28-day period, Mr C had his kettle removed and only had 20 minutes of direct access to staff per day, resulting in him once having to wait up to six hours to be cleaned after soiling himself.

Mr C was said to have physically assaulted a staff member on 18 November 2021, which resulted in the police being called, and he left on 26 November, moving back in with his parents.

His family complained to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), claiming Lifeways had failed to provide adequate care.

'Distress and uncertainty'

The ombudsman ruled that Lifeways "did not properly support Mr C" and acted in a manner which was "not in line with its agreement" with the council.

Despite the council being in regular contact with Mr C's family, there were "missed opportunities" to consider how his care could be improved.

The ombudsman ordered the council to formally apologise to Mr C and his family, and pay them £3,000 in view of the "service failure, distress and uncertainty" they had caused.

A council spokesman said: "We have accepted the recommendations in the ombudsman report, including a remedy payment, and these are now under way.

"We offer our sincerest apologies to Mr C for any distress caused to him, and are committed to learning from this experience to improve our services for the future."

Lifeways was approached for comment by the LDRS.