A COUNCIL told a woman with dementia to move care homes when her money ran out, without assessing whether moving would harm her.

Brighton and Hove City Council has issued an apology to a family after it was found to be at fault by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).

The woman, who did not wish to be named, had been paying for care at a residential home near to where her daughter lives.

When her money dwindled to near £23,250, the threshold where she would become eligible for council funding for care, the council told her family she may have to move to a cheaper home because it could not pay the costs of the home she was in.

The council provided details of other homes that would accept her within a budget the council had set, where she would not have to pay any “top-up” for her care. However, the woman’s daughter said none were suitable as they were too far from where she lived.

The woman’s GP told the council a move would be detrimental to her mental and physical wellbeing, but the council did not consider the risk of moving the woman, or investigate why the daughter thought the homes would be unsuitable.

Upon reassessment, the council increased the woman’s personal budget. The care home agreed to drop its costs and the family paid the difference, which enabled the woman to remain in the care home.

The Ombudsman’s investigation found the council did not leave enough time to complete the process of moving the woman, after being alerted to her dwindling funds.

Had her daughter agreed to a move, there would have still been a delay between the woman’s funds falling below the threshold and her leaving the more expensive care home, meaning she would have had to continue to pay £1,300 for her placement for a number of weeks, instead of her assessed weekly contribution of just £180.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Funding arrangements for care can be incredibly complex.

“So it is vitally important councils keep communication channels open with families.”

“While the council in this case followed good practice by alerting the family early on to the possibility of having to move, it did not do enough to establish whether such a move might have a serious consequences for the woman – something both her daughter and medical professionals warned it about.

“I welcome the council’s ready agreement to my recommendations and hope this means other families are not left in the same distressing circumstances when a relative’s funds run low.”

Councillor Sue Shanks, chairwoman of the Health and Wellbeing Board, said the council is committed to learning from mistakes to drive improvement in all areas.

She said: “The council fell below expected standards in this particular case and welcomes the report and has acted upon the findings.

“Arrangements for paying for care and support can be difficult to understand and we try to make sure people have access to the information and advice they need to make decisions about their care arrangements. I’m pleased the Ombudsman has recognised our good practice in this area.

“I look forward to a report coming to the Health and Wellbeing Board in January which will provide further assurance on the actions taken in support of the recommendations and improve future practice.”