COUNCILS in Dorset were forced to address issues over distress they caused elderly and vulnerable residents in relation to wrongly charging families for care services.

An investigation found that Borough of Poole was one of the local authorities with the most complaints upheld by a government watchdog.

This related to the council's poor handling of charging for care services.

Borough of Poole had eight complaints against it upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman over the past five years. Only 14 other councils across the country had more complaints upheld against them between 2015 and 2019.

Complaints against the local authority included over a delay in carrying out financial assessments, incomplete advice over a change of income and a retrospective invoice for case.

On several occasions the ombudsman told the council to issue an apology.

Bournemouth Borough Council and Dorset County Council both had three complaints against them upheld.

Anyone unhappy about the way a local authority carries out a financial assessment for charging can make representations through the council's complaints procedure - and if the matter remains unresolved families can ask the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, added: “The care system is hideously complex and councils haven’t got enough cash to go round, so this is a sure fire recipe for some unfortunate older people and their families to end up paying more for care than they legally should.

"At Age UK we have come across numerous examples of the law in regards to care being breached by councils, sometimes deliberately, at other times by mistake. It’s yet another reason why the Government must keep its promise to fix social care, and that must mean a process of refinancing care alongside a process of thorough going reform.”

The findings of the ombudsman in upheld cases against Borough of Poole included:

  • There is fault by the council in its handling of the financial assessment for care costs. I recommended the Council reduces the charge by £166 or two weeks charge. It has agreed.
  • The council gave incomplete advice about how a change in Miss B's income would affect her payments towards her care. Within one month, the Council should reduce the amount it has charged, come to a payment arrangement and share this decision with relevant staff.
  • There was fault in the way the Council assessed Mr B's finances when he went into a care home. The Ombudsman has recommended the Council apologises and re-assesses Mr B's finances from May 2017.

Councillor Lesley Dedman, BCP Council cabinet member for adults and health, said: “We can’t comment on complaints against previous authorities but we are currently reviewing the financial processes inherited from those authorities and are looking at ways to update our adult social care financial services to make them fit for the future."

From January to March, BCP Council carried out a public consultation on care charging. The results will be published in due course but may take longer than usual due to resources being focussed on the Council’s response to Covid-19.