The council has been accused of causing ‘severe or prolonged’ distress after serious care failings left a man from Reading without medication and suffering ‘undignified care’.

A disturbing report on the failings in care for the man, who regularly suffered with poor mental health, has been published after his daughter began a complaints procedure against Reading Borough Council.

The missed medication led the man, who has now passed away, to have episodes of confusion and incontinence.

In one episode, he left his home in just his jacket and underpants after missing medication for anxiety and schizophrenia.

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The daughter, whose name is kept anonymous as Mrs B, complained about the level of care her father was receiving to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSO).

The man had a history of difficulty taking medication, overdosing, and missing doses in some cases, according to council case notes from January 2018.

The problems with dosing led the council to have his medication put in a lockbox for administration by carers when it was needed, with a Medication Administration Records (MAR) charts filled out when the correct pills were taken.

Reading Borough Council contracted Novus Care to handle the man’s care in April 2018.

But the ombudsman investigation found failings in the management of the man’s care and evidence that Novus Care staff had not administered medication in some cases.

The man died in mid-2019.

Shortly after his death, his daughter sadly found his furniture covered in faecal marks and a bag of medication which had not been administered.

A safeguarding report produced by the council attributed this to a bad incident in May 2019,  the same month the man was found on the street in his jacket and underpants.

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The daughter provided MAR charts to the ombudsman which proved that doses of medication to control his medication and incontinence were missed.

She also complained to the council about care overpayments, which it investigated and refunded the amount overpaid.

But she was unsatisfied because she said the council had not addressed her concerns about non-administration of medication.

The ombudsman found that the council did do an investigation, but failed to acknowledge her safeguarding concerns.

Although the case was also investigated by Thames Valley Police and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the ombudsman found the council still failed to investigate the daughter’s concern about missed medication.

The man first became known to the council’s adult social care services in 2008 after spending time in a  psychiatric hospital, with the council arranging his care from 2015 onwards.

He was referred to as Mr C in the investigation, which you can read in full here.

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The ombudsman stated that it could not recommend improvements to remedy the care Mr C had received as he had passed away, but did recommend £1,000 be given to his daughter for the ‘severe or prolonged’ distress caused to her, this has been paid.

The council no longer commissions Novus Care.

A spokesperson for Reading Borough Council said: “We are saddened by the death of Mr C and our sympathies are with his family following their loss.

“The council fully accepts the findings of the Ombudsman investigation.

“We have apologised to Mrs B and followed the recommendations in recognition of the distress caused.

“Multiple agencies were involved in Mr C’s care and our Commissioning Teams have met with all relevant staff across the various agencies to identify learning points, best practice and future collaboration.

“Letters have been sent to all providers reminding them of their obligation to monitor staff and their responsibilities with regards reporting any matters which may be of concern.

“Information has also been provided to the council’s adult social care staff on the importance of cross-agency working.”