Latest news with #occupationaltherapy
BBC News
29-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Slough Borough Council SEND assessment delays criticised in report
"Significant delays" by a council in assessing a child's special educational needs caused his mother "prolonged injustice", a government watchdog has Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ordered the Slough Borough Council to pay her £1,000 for delays and lack of report said the council's faults had caused her "significant distress and frustration".The BBC has approached the council for comment. The mother, named as Ms X in the ombudsman's report, asked the council to update her son B's education health and care plan (EHCP) in March is a legal document reviewed annually that sets out what a council has to do to meet a child's special educational wanted the council to update B's EHCP with information from a private occupational therapist's assessment she had sourced, and asked if it could reimburse her for the X then complained "shortly after" about the time the council had taken to update B's EHCP after a review in October 2023, and asked for a personal budget to pay for his occupational therapy. 'Especially severe' The council replied that B's annual review would take place in April, that she could discuss a personal budget then, and that it might need to take 14 weeks to reassess his council also said it had "not yet decided" whether to reimburse Ms X for the private occupational therapist's assessment.B's annual review took place in April and the council wrote to Ms X in June saying it had prepared an amended plan, that it would reimburse her for the occupational therapist's assessment and reassess B's response to her complaint, Slough Borough Council said it would consider her request for a personal accepted there had been delays in updating B's plan and securing a decision around the private occupational therapist the council did issue an updated ECHP in September 2024 the reassessment had still not taken place – and was ongoing at the time of the ombudsman's decision in March this council 'said waiting for the outcome of the private OT's review, had delayed this consideration'.The ombudsman ruled this delay was "especially severe" and the the council should pay Ms X £ addition, the ombudsman said there was a "lack of communication! from the council in explaining its decision whether to award Ms X a personal budget, and that there was a delay in deciding whether to reimburse her for the private said the council should pay Ms X a further £250 for these. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Adult care 'requires improvement', inspectors say
A local authority's adult social care service requires improvement, health inspectors have said. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) described South Gloucestershire Council's provision as innovative, but said it had heard accounts of "mixed experiences". James Bullion, the CQC's chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said there were "gaps in the system" which the council was already aware of. A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said the watchdog was "clear" in its "confidence" in the authority's plans to address improvements. Inspectors said they had been told some people had found it difficult to find what they needed on the authority's website, that there was a waiting list for occupational therapy and that a lack of consistent contacts for service users was sometimes a barrier to asking for help. There also needed to be a greater focus on hospital discharge services, they said, as well as making sure people could access equipment or minor home adaptations in a timely manner. "In some cases people waited an unacceptably long time" for their Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards - which ensure people who cannot consent to their care arrangements in a care home or hospital are protected - "given their needs and risks," Mr Bullion said. 'Innovative' But while there were a number of areas in which the authority was told to improve, inspectors also found areas of good performance - including staff feeling as though they were respected, service users feeling they retained their independence and a good experience for those transitioning from child to adult services. "At this inspection, we saw an authority that was looking to the future," Mr Bullion said. "They were innovative, worked well with partners and were supporting people to stay healthy to prevent them from needing future support." A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council told the BBC the authority's overall rating fell "just 4% short of a Good rating", adding that its plans to address areas of improvement were "already showing results". South Gloucestershire councillor John O'Neil, who has responsibility for adult social care, said staff worked "tirelessly every day" to help residents "live as happy, healthy and independent lives as possible". "We have plans in place to make the changes in practice that we need to," he said, adding: "We have confidence in our teams to deliver and indeed, we are already seeing improvements." Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. More on this story Related internet links
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
South Gloucestershire adult social care 'requires improvement'
Adult care 'requires improvement', inspectors say 16 minutes ago Share Save Sarah Turnnidge BBC News, Bristol Share Save PA Media Inspectors found people had a mixed experience of engaging with services A local authority's adult social care service requires improvement, health inspectors have said. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) described South Gloucestershire Council's provision as innovative, but said it had heard accounts of "mixed experiences". James Bullion, the CQC's chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said there were "gaps in the system" which the council was already aware of. A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said the watchdog was "clear" in its "confidence" in the authority's plans to address improvements. Inspectors said they had been told some people had found it difficult to find what they needed on the authority's website, that there was a waiting list for occupational therapy and that a lack of consistent contacts for service users was sometimes a barrier to asking for help. There also needed to be a greater focus on hospital discharge services, they said, as well as making sure people could access equipment or minor home adaptations in a timely manner. "In some cases people waited an unacceptably long time" for their Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards - which ensure people who cannot consent to their care arrangements in a care home or hospital are protected - "given their needs and risks," Mr Bullion said. 'Innovative' But while there were a number of areas in which the authority was told to improve, inspectors also found areas of good performance - including staff feeling as though they were respected, service users feeling they retained their independence and a good experience for those transitioning from child to adult services. "At this inspection, we saw an authority that was looking to the future," Mr Bullion said. "They were innovative, worked well with partners and were supporting people to stay healthy to prevent them from needing future support." A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council told the BBC the authority's overall rating fell "just 4% short of a Good rating", adding that its plans to address areas of improvement were "already showing results". South Gloucestershire councillor John O'Neil, who has responsibility for adult social care, said staff worked "tirelessly every day" to help residents "live as happy, healthy and independent lives as possible". "We have plans in place to make the changes in practice that we need to," he said, adding: "We have confidence in our teams to deliver and indeed, we are already seeing improvements."
