Council ordered to apologise after resident left without vital equipment for ten months

A disabled resident was left for ten MONTHS without vital specialist equipment because of ‘missed opportunities’ and ‘poor communication’ by Oldham Council, according to a government watchdog.

‘Miss X’ reported a problem with her adjustable bed in January 2023 and later her shower seat and was only given suitable replacements in October. 

The delays were caused by ‘confusion’ about the process and ‘bad record keeping’, meaning it took service providers several months to process the request before they then provided equipment in the wrong size. 

During the ten months, she received barely any updates about the progress of her complaint, despite a family member asking for updates on more than two occasions.

An investigator from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said: “There were periods of several weeks when there was no contact from the Council.” 

They also concluded there had been ‘avoidable delays’ and communication ‘was not as good as it should have been’.

The investigator said that Miss X was left with the impression that her ‘social needs and preferences were less important’ to staff dealing with her case than they should have been. 

The local authority paid £400 in compensation and apologised.

But it has been asked to ‘apologise further’ for the ‘extra injustice’ identified by the Ombudsman. 

The investigator wrote: “Overall, my view is the equipment service took a reactive, rather than proactive approach to the replacement and there was a lack of coordination and oversight.

"That was the fault which added to the initial delays.

“It also failed to communicate properly with Miss X or to take a proactive approach when the delays became prolonged.” 

Oldham Council has a responsibility to provide equipment for eligible people who need support getting around or out of their homes.

The local authority commissions two outside organisations to determine and supply specialist care equipment and deal with repairs. 

But the ombudsman said the local authority ‘remains responsible’ for ‘the actions of the organisation providing them’.

The investigator ordered the council to provide more evidence that it was doing everything in its power to ensure a similar situation does not happen again. 

An Oldham Council spokesman said: “As instructed, we have apologised to the resident involved and made the recommended payment.

“We are reviewing our processes around the provision of equipment to ensure we learn from this incident and embed the lessons learnt.”

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