Local Government Ombudsman criticises Hounslow Council for the way it dealt with an elderly woman who needed care

Hounslow House, Hounslow Council’s offices; Photograph Julieet McDonald

Care costs mounted up while Council ‘failed to provide information or communicate effectively about the fees and costs of care’

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised Hounslow Council for the way they dealt with an elderly woman who needed support with care.

‘Miss X’ complained to the Ombudsman about the way the Council had handled the financial assessment and charges for her late mother’s home care and residential care.

She said it had failed to provide information or communicate effectively about the fees and costs of care; to produce a placement contract; and it had then failed to respond adequately to her complaint.

As a result, they were left owing a large and unexpected bill, which ’caused distress and confusion to her and her family’.

The Ombudsman agreed the Council had taken too long to complete financial assessments so that Miss X was not clear how much her mother would need to pay towards her care charges before the care started.

It did not give information or advice to Miss X about the process or the charges and did not fully respond to her complaint.

‘The Council will apologise to Miss X, make a symbolic payment to recognise the impact on her, and remind staff that the care and support plan should include information about the financial assessment and a person’s contribution to their care charges’.

Family not told how much care fees would be for ten months after mother started receiving care

‘Mrs K’ was living at home and needed home care. Her daughter told the Ombudsman her mother’s social worker advised that as she had very little in savings, the Council would not expect her to contribute to her home care costs.

Mrs K was subsequently admitted to hospital and was discharged to a nursing home. The Council issued a new care and support plan for her, ‘but did not say how much Mrs K should contribute to this’.

It took the Council ten months to tell them how much they had to pay – £77 per week – for the home care she had received before she went into hospital.

Only after she had been in the nursing home for six months, in January 2025, did the Council tell them how much she owed for her residential care.

‘At this time, the Council also told Miss X that when Mrs K went into the care home, the value of her property would be taken into account after 12 weeks into her stay there. This meant that from 28 October 2024 onwards, Mrs K was liable to pay the whole amount of her care fees’.

Miss X told the Ombudsman she had understood her mother was entitled to Continuing Health Care, which would have meant her care was funded by the NHS, and that the Council had not discussed the fees with her.

The family was now faced with a large bill ‘which was a shock’.

The Council said Miss X knew there would be a financial assessment from March 2024 and so knew it was possible her mother might be liable for these charges. Miss X also knew the weekly cost of the nursing home because this was written in her mother’s care and support plan.

Councils should tell families what costs to expect

‘We expect councils to carry out a financial assessment before they create a care and support plans and before care services begin’ says the Ombudsman.

‘This is so people can make an informed choice about what care and support they want.

‘It is standard practice is to set out the home care fees at the time this is arranged but it does not have any records to show that it did this’.

In response to the Ombudsman’s criticism over its lack of record keeping and poor communication the Council said it would: ‘reflect on the case to ensure that it maintains clear records of how and when financial information is shared; it replies fully to complaints; and communications between services is effectively coordinated and recorded’.

This is the second time within a month the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised Hounslow for the way in which it deals with people it provides with care.

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Council response

A Council spokesperson told The Chiswick Calendar:

“We accept the findings of the Ombudsman and have apologised to Miss X while taking swift action to improve our practice in this area, namely our Financial Assessment Process.  Staff have also been briefed, and a payment has been made to compensate Miss X for the impact this situation has had on her.”