Harrow Council has addressed findings from a recent Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) report, outlining steps taken to improve how such cases are handled.
The LGSCO report highlighted failures by the council to take appropriate action regarding respite care for a resident's wife and family. Specifically, the council did not ensure the family received adequate respite care and failed to properly investigate the complaint under its statutory complaints procedure, leading to delays. The Ombudsman imposed remedies on the council, which have since been complied with.
The Cabinet noted the Ombudsman's report. Jessica, a council officer, stated that the council will implement new processes to ensure corporate directors have more oversight of Ombudsman complaints, including a new escalation process to address the identified failures in investigation.
Jessica also presented statistics on complaints, noting that out of all stage one, stage two, and Local Government Ombudsman complaints, 12 were upheld. While the number of upheld complaints was not large, they were very important to the residents involved.
The Cabinet acknowledged the need to learn from the report and adjust procedures to ensure better visibility of these cases, not only for corporate directors but also for the Leader of the Council.
