Essex slammed for failing disabled man

Essex Council has been criticised for failing to meet the needs of a severely disabled man whose family claimed he was neglected for four years.

The local government ombudsman criticised the council’s social services for failing to ensure there was adequate care in the out-of-area residential homes in which the man was placed from 2001 to 2005.

Ombudsman Tony Redmond said a severe deterioration in the man’s health could have been avoided if social services – which assigned the case to an inexperienced social worker – had ensured his needs were properly understood. He recommended the council pay £7,000 compensation.

At 24, the man was placed in an older people’s home, and temporarily cared for in a hotel room adapted for disabled people.

Redmond said the council had already reviewed its procedures for dealing with complex cases.

 

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