logo
Only one Peterborough adult social services complaint upheld

Only one Peterborough adult social services complaint upheld

BBC News05-03-2025

A complaint made on behalf of a man with severe health issues was the only one against Peterborough City Council's adult social services upheld by the ombudsman over the course of a year.The case was one of 49 taken to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman between April 2023 and March 2024."The number of complaints being received about adult social care services in Peterborough is low, both compared with neighbouring authorities and in terms of the numbers of people receiving services," said Shabina Qayyum, Labour cabinet member for adults and health.A total of 4,357 people received support during the 12 months.
The average complaint response time was 23 working days, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.The figures form part of an annual review into complaints to be discussed at the council's adults and health scrutiny committee on 11 March.The case upheld by the ombudsman involved a man who complained about the care provided to his son, who has severe autism, learning and communication difficulties, and schizophrenia.The complainant said the council failed to arrange a Section 117 review for his son despite a recommendation by the ombudsman in May 2022.A Section 117 means a patient gets free aftercare when they leave hospital for support or services linked to their condition.The council was ordered by the ombudsman to apologise, and to pay £100 to the complainant.
Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Fewer people to be treated in A&E, as government announce plan to cut 'corridor care'
Fewer people to be treated in A&E, as government announce plan to cut 'corridor care'

ITV News

time7 hours ago

  • ITV News

Fewer people to be treated in A&E, as government announce plan to cut 'corridor care'

Fewer people will be seen at A&E under government plans to cut "corridor care" and treat people closer to their homes. The government says more needs to be done to drive down long waits, cut delayed discharges and improve care for patients. The plans will see almost £450 million spent on creating better care and more treatment facilities away from hospitals to tackle the crisis in A&E. Under the plans, paramedics will play a bigger role in the community, with patients given 'more effective treatment at the scene of an accident or in their own homes from ambulance crews'. More patients will also be seen by urgent community response teams in their homes to try to avoid hospital admission. Why is the government doing this? One of Labour's central promises when they won the election last year was to "build an NHS fit for the future" - part of that effort has been a focus on driving down A&E waiting times and initiatives to treat more people in the community. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'No patient should ever be left waiting for hours in hospital corridors or for an ambulance which ought to arrive in minutes. 'We can't fix more than a decade of underinvestment and neglect overnight. 'But through the measures we're setting out today, we will deliver faster and more convenient care for patients in emergencies." What's the money going towards? 40 new same day emergency care and urgent treatment centres to treat and discharge patients the same day, avoiding unnecessary admissions to hospital. 500 new ambulances rolled out across the country by March 2026. 15 mental health crisis assessment centres, designed to ensure mentally ill people do not have to wait in A&E for hours for care. What targets has the government set itself? Ministers say 800,000 fewer people a year will have to wait more than four hours in A&E. The government wants to slash the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours for a hospital bed – or to be discharged from A&E – so this occurs 'less than 10% of the time". Further measures in the plan are intended to drive down delayed discharges from hospital, which occur when people are medically fit to leave but care in their homes or community has not yet been put in place. Local performance targets will be set to improve patient discharge times, and 'eliminate internal discharge delays of more than 48 hours in all settings', the plan said. A&E 'league tables' will also be published to drive up performance. The plan further sets out how ambulance waiting times for category 2 patients – such as those suffering stroke, heart attack, sepsis or major trauma – will be cut by more than 14%, from 35 to 30 minutes. A previous target of 18 minutes has been repeatedly missed. In the document, there is an aim to 'eradicate' last winter's lengthy ambulance handover delays by meeting a maximum 45-minute target for patients to be handed over to A&E. Pregnancy warnings for women on weight-loss jabs over 'Ozempic baby boom' Holidaymakers warned of measles risk over summer after European outbreaks How have healthcare bodies responded? Royal College of Emergency Medicine president Dr Adrian Boyle said: 'There is some good and some bad – but we wholeheartedly welcome the commitment to publish A&E performance data for each and every hospital and we thank NHS England and the Department of Health for heeding our recommendation. 'In this plan, for possibly the first time, NHS England acknowledges the shameful situation being experienced by patients and clinicians across the country's emergency departments – and that must be commended. 'However, some parts lack ambition – for example accepting that 10% of people will face A&E waits of more than 12 hours, when no patient should. 'Also maintaining the four-hour standard at 78% when the stated aim is that 95% of patients should move through the emergency department within this time – something which hasn't happened for a decade.' He said there were also concerns about how the maximum 45-minute ambulance handover will be achieved 'without exposing patients to risk and increasing overcrowding in our departments'. Association of Ambulance Chief Executives managing director Anna Parry said: 'We are particularly heartened to see the plan's emphasis on the reduction and improved management of hospital handover delays. 'Handover delays have the greatest detrimental impact on ambulance resources and create unnecessary delays and additional harm for thousands of patients each year. 'The elimination of corridor care and the focus on reducing 12-hour waits at emergency departments is also welcomed.'

Labour support for assisted dying law falls as more MPs switch position to oppose change over coercion fears and effect on vulnerable people
Labour support for assisted dying law falls as more MPs switch position to oppose change over coercion fears and effect on vulnerable people

Daily Mail​

time9 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Labour support for assisted dying law falls as more MPs switch position to oppose change over coercion fears and effect on vulnerable people

Labour support for legalising assisted dying appears to be falling as more MPs publicly question the law change. The Commons will next week debate changes to the plan to allow terminally ill people with less than six months to live to end their own lives, ahead of a crunch vote later this month. But fresh concerns have been raised about the The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that is being led through Parliament by backbencher Kim Leadbeater. Opponents have complained the Bill does not have enough protections and has been rushed through, with the criticism coming days after two royal medical colleges voiced their doubts on the legislation in its current form. And now even supporters of the principle of legalising assisted dying are questioning the process. Labour MP Markus Campbell-Savours, who voted for the bill in a preliminary vote last year, told the BBC he now planned to vote against it because in its current form it crossed his 'red lines for protecting the vulnerable'. 'I want to see safeguards that will ensure that assisted dying is not overextended to include those in situations where there are alternative ways to improve the quality of their lives,' said Campbell-Savours. 'I would also be very concerned if legislation produced a situation where people who considered themselves a burden on their families and friends felt pressured to end their life.' The Commons will next week debate changes to the law allowing terminally ill people with less than six months to live to end their own lives, ahead of a crunch vote later this month. And fellow Labour MP Josh Fenton-Glynn told the broadcaster he will vote against the bill, having abstained last year. 'We see quite a few of the amendments which are specifically aimed at stopping coercion being opposed by the supporters of the bill,' he said. 'I don't think chances to make the bill safer have been taken.' At the end of November last year, the Commons backed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill by 330 votes to 275, a majority of 55 votes. But campaigners believe enough have changed their mind to put its chances of becoming law onto a knife-edge. The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death. This would be subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. The terminally ill person would take an approved substance, provided by a doctor but administered only by the person themselves. The implementation period has been doubled to a maximum of four years from royal assent, rather than the initially suggested two years. If the Bill was to pass later this year that would mean it might not be until 2029, potentially coinciding with the end of this Government's parliament, that assisted dying was being offered. A Government impact assessment published last month estimated that between 164 and 647 assisted deaths could potentially take place in the first year of the service, rising to between 1,042 and 4,559 in year 10. The establishment of a Voluntary Assisted Dying Commissioner and three-member expert panels would cost an estimated average of between £10.9 million to £13.6 million per year, the document said. It had 'not been possible' to estimate the overall implementation costs at this stage of the process, it added. While noting that cutting end-of-life care costs 'is not stated as an objective of the policy', the assessment estimated that such costs could be reduced by as much as an estimated £10 million in the first year and almost £60 million after 10 years.

Government urged to act on miscarriage leave after Foley support
Government urged to act on miscarriage leave after Foley support

Belfast Telegraph

timea day ago

  • Belfast Telegraph

Government urged to act on miscarriage leave after Foley support

Currently, women are entitled to full maternity leave if they have a stillbirth or miscarriage after 24 weeks. However, the Labour party said that many women and men are familiar with the devastation that results from an early miscarriage, adding that women have had to take annual leave to 'recover from the heartache and the physical effects of this experience'. It has brought forward a Reproductive Health Related Leave Bill, which would provide for any woman who suffers an early miscarriage to have paid time off to recover. In March, the UK Government agreed to ensure bereavement leave covers miscarriage, after a 'gap in support' was identified for those who experience pregnancy loss. Asked if she would support paid leave for women who suffer miscarriages, Ms Foley said: 'Absolutely.' However, the minister said it was not within her gift to grant. 'I absolutely would but I respect that a minister has to go to the [Department of Public Expenditure and Reform] in relation to that and that argument has to be brought out. The Fianna Fail minister added: 'We are seeking, from a gender point of view, to give maximum opportunity to all, including women. 'So that's in terms of employment, in terms of their health, that's in terms of supporting them in every opportunity. 'So obviously I would be very supportive of that but it would be a matter for another minister to get that one over the line, but I would be very supportive of it.' Asked about Ms Foley's comments, Labour health spokeswoman Marie Sherlock said: 'The amount of can-kicking when it comes to providing what is ultimately compassionate leave for women in the workplace is unbelievable. 'Labour published a Bill to provide paid time off work to recover physically and emotionally from pregnancy loss. 'Rather than the Department of Children kicking it to the Department of Public Expenditure and so on, why can't Fine Gael and Fianna Fail just make good on their commitment to women to progress Labour's Bill?' She said the previous Fine Gael and Fianna Fail Government commissioned a report in January last year which recommended the introduction of policies to provide time off work following pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Ms Sherlock added: 'How much longer will they make women wait? 'Yes, offering paid miscarriage leave supports gender equity, but crucially, specifying miscarriage leave is an acknowledgment of this enormous loss that so many women experience. 'It will reduce the silence around pregnancy loss and ensure that women have access to leave when it matters most. 'Since the introduction of the Labour Party Bill, I have been inundated with women sharing their experience of loss. 'The majority of these cases are unexpected. It is a profoundly sad and devastating experience and it demands attention from this Government.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store