A man from Reading has received compensation after complaining about his mum’s placement in a care home following a medical episode.

His mum suffered a stroke in February 2021, leading her to be admitted to hospital.

But instead  being sent back to her home, which was sheltered accommodation, medical professionals concluded the woman was unable to make a decision about where she should live, which led to adult social services at Reading Borough Council arranging her discharge into a care home.

But problems arose when the woman’s son and the council disagreed about her placement in a care home.

The son initially wanted his mum to go to a care home with good rehabilitation services; however, him and the family could not pay a top up fee for that care home and were unable to get the woman in there anyway as there were no vacancies.

The council then identified three care homes, two of which were discounted by the son because of their distance and Care Quality Commission reports.

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The woman moved into one of the care homes in April, but there were eventually disagreements between the son and the council over the woman’s continued stay there.

Her son wanted her to return to sheltered accommodation or the first care home, arguing that it lacked adequate rehabilitation provisions.

Following the concerns raised, the council conducted a new needs assessment.

However, the woman herself stated she was happy to stay in the care home and did not want to return home, even expressing a wish to end her previous tenancy.

The council’s adult social care team conducted a number of an assessments on the woman, including on her mental capacity, a wheelchair assessment -which she would have required if returning home- and speech and language therapy provision.

Ultimately, the team concluded that she had significant needs that were best met in her current care home.

He disagreed with the decision and said his mother was bullied into the decision not to return to her sheltered housing accommodation.

He also complained about the choice of care home, its lack of rehabilitation provision, that no wheelchair was provided and a delay in carrying out the care and support review.

A review was meant to be completed in May, but didn’t get finished until September.

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Late last year, the son took his complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO).

The ombudsman ruled that the council was at fault for not carrying out a care and support review.

The LGO’s report states: “Government guidance gives an expectation that councils should consider a light touch review of a care and support plan six to eight weeks after it produces one.

“An officer identified a review was due in mid-May, but the council failed to complete this until September 2021. This was fault.”

However, the ombudsman found no fault in the woman’s placement in the care home or the needs assessments undertaken.

You can view the full report here. 

The council has agreed to pay the man £100 for the frustration caused and the time and trouble he put into seeking information about the review.

A spokesperson said: "The Council accepts the findings of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and have apologised to Mr X and made a payment of £100."