- Nottinghamshire county council have apologised to a man after a man was banned for six weeks from visiting his mother at a Mansfield Care home. Although staff reported that the man in question was “loud and aggressive” during visits and engaged in an altercation with another resident, the care home were found not to have taken appropriate action following a safeguarding incident, whereby the man’s mother suffered bruising caused by another resident. The ombudsman found that the care home was at fault for not considering the mother’s rights to a family life and failing to engage with the son. The Local authority were also found to be at fault for failing to disclose the outcome of the safeguarding investigation to her son. Read full article HERE.
- The government has withdrawn its Covid-19 guidance in relation to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and that supervisory bodies and managing authorities should revert to usual decision making processes. On a practical level, this means that care homes and hospitals will no longer be able to use the shortened application form to grant an urgent authorisation to deprive a person of their liberty, which was issued during the pandemic. In terms of DoLS assessments whereby remote (i.e. video or telephone) assessments were encouraged during the peaks of the pandemic, the withdrawal of the guidance marks a return to face to face assessments, so that the relevant person can be involved in the decision making process as much as possible. Read full article HERE.
- From 11 November 2021, anyone working or volunteering in a care home will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 unless exempt. This means that by 16 September, all care home workers must have at least had their first dose of the vaccine so that they are fully vaccinated by the time the regulations come into force on 11 November. The latest guidance from the Department of Health and Social care also stipulates that anyone wanting to visit a care home must be fully vaccinated. Read article in full HERE.
- From April 2020 to April 2021, 200 people under the care of the Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) went through a DST assessment. Of those 200 people, 129 of them were found not to be eligible for Continuing Health Care funding. The figures also show that a total of 1,602 people were initially granted fast-track funding in Lincolnshire last year. There are calls for change after many people over the county have had healthcare funding pulled, including those who are in receipt of palliative care. Read full article HERE.
- Dudley council has agreed to refund care home top-up fees after an Ombudsman investigation. The investigation followed a complaint by a family member of a woman placed in a care home following a fall. At the time there were no available beds in care homes that would not require the family to pay a top-up fee, over what the council agreed to pay for the woman’s care. The family stipulated that an alternative placement would need to be found for her long term care due to concerns about costs.The Ombudsman investigation found that Dudley Council made no attempts to identify a cheaper alternative care home for the long time and because of this, the council should not have charged a top-up fee. This is not the first time the council has fallen into hot water over the way it deals with third party top up fees – an ombudsman investigation over similar issues was opened in 2017 and found hat the council should revise its practices. Read full article HERE.
If you need help and advice in regards to any of the topics covered above, please contact our Health & Community Care Team on 01926 354704 for free initial advice or email: debbiea@moore-tibbits.co.uk.
Kirstie Lennox | Solicitor