South London council failure leaves elderly woman with dementia paying £3k for care after ignoring assessment requests.
The council ignored him at first. She ended up paying over £3,000 herself. The council later apologized. They are called Merton Council.
The woman, Ms. Y, lived at home. Her son, Mr. X, helped her. He managed her payments and gave her care. Social services promised a visit. An occupational therapist suggested more care. The social worker left, and nobody came.
Mr. X contacted them later. Progress was slow. He complained in January 2022. Her condition got worse, so he paid for extra care. The council increased payments but didn’t pay for the past, so he covered those costs himself.
He remained unhappy in September 2023. The council hadn’t addressed her decline. He chased payments in November 2023. He and his mother felt frustrated. He contacted the Ombudsman in March 2024 because the council hadn’t handled complaints well, and he lost respite time due to the funding issues.
The Ombudsman agreed with Mr. X and stated that Merton left them uncertain. The council paid Mr. X £3,858.73 for the distress and delays. The council apologized again and will improve communication and care. They also gave Mr. X £200 for lost respite.
A council person spoke about the situation, acknowledging that they know care affects families a lot. They stated that giving proper support is important and that they learned from this and made changes.