Sussex care home leg break council ordered to apologise

Gary Lewis is severely learning disabled but knows what happened to him, his brother Martyn (right) said

A man whose leg was broken in a care home on the same day as another resident has won an apology from West Sussex County Council (WSCC).

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) upheld a complaint by Martyn Lewis after his brother was injured at Beech Lodge care home in Horsham in 2015.

The LGO criticised WSCC's treatment of both victims' families and ordered the apology, a meeting and a £1,000 award.

The council said it accepted the report.

Mr Lewis said his brother Gary, who has learning difficulties, cerebral palsy and osteoporosis, had subsequently settled into a new care home and, now his leg had healed, he seemed "over the trauma".

But he said: "There is a foot-long scar that will always be visible, and mentally he probably still doesn't have closure because no-one can tell him they know what happened."

Matthew Bates's father told the BBC he believes his son knows how his injury happened but cannot communicate it

Last year, a safeguarding review found Gary and fellow resident Matthew Bates were probably poorly-handled at the home.

The review said the families of both men had been "let down".

Mr Lewis went on to complain to the LGO about how WSCC handled the review and dealt with the families.

In a report published on Wednesday, the LGO said significant flaws in the initial investigation had caused significant distress and uncertainty, but further failings in the process had contributed to that "sense of injustice and unfair treatment".

The LGO said families were not given enough time to consider the review, did not receive an apology or explanation for failings and were not offered a meeting afterwards.

Mr Lewis said he was pleased the LGO upheld his complaint but believed the apology he received was not "heartfelt".

He said the council had offered a meeting but restricted it to discussing improvements and not failings.

A WSCC spokesman said the authority was implementing recommendations concerning "how sensitive investigations, usually carried out independently, are best able to involve the families".

He said: "The planned meeting with family members will be part of the work to address this issue."

Sussex Health Care, which runs Beech Lodge, is at the centre of a separate police investigation into nine homes over allegations of a lack of care of 43 people, 13 of whom have since died.

Mr Bates and Mr Lewis are not part of the investigation, although Beech Lodge is one of the nine homes.