Worcestershire councils admit to errors affecting a child’s home adaptation
Worcestershire: So, it turns out both Worcestershire County Council and Bromsgrove District Council really dropped the ball when it came to fixing up a home for a child. They messed up the adaptations that were supposed to meet the kid’s needs.
This whole situation dragged on longer than it should have, and the poor child ended up spending six weeks away from home in respite care. That’s just heartbreaking.
Next week, the county councillors are set to chat about an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. It sounds like they’ve got a lot to answer for.
To make things right, the county council has agreed to pay the child’s mother £4,000. This is to acknowledge the hassle and injustice caused by their failure to get things right from the start.
Bromsgrove council is also stepping up, offering £2,000 to recognize the stress and frustration their delays caused. It’s about time they took responsibility.
Both councils are also going to share the costs for the private occupational therapy and architect reports the mother had to pay for. Plus, they’ll each chip in £500 to acknowledge how their mistakes directly affected the child.
Amerdeep Somal, the ombudsman, pointed out that the councils were too focused on fitting the adaptations within certain rules instead of making sure the home was actually suitable for the child. That’s just not right.
He mentioned that the family spent way too long in a place that just wasn’t good enough. And to make matters worse, the councils didn’t keep the mother in the loop about what was happening, which only added to the stress.
In a joint statement, both councils admitted they messed up. They apologized for not ensuring the new home was properly adapted and recognized that they missed chances to address the family’s concerns sooner.
They promised to learn from this experience and said they’d be making changes to improve communication in the future. Let’s hope they really mean it!
