Leicester City Council has agreed to pay for adaptations at the home of a disabled woman’s sister so she can stay there at weekends.
Changes will be made at the property, which is not in Leicester, after the woman was forced to travel home for a shower because her disabilities meant that she could not use the one at her sister’s house.
Leicester City Council made a discretionary decision to pay for the work at the home of the woman’s sister, where she stays at weekends.
The case came to light as a result of a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO).
The ombudsman did not find the council to be at fault, but as a result of recent reassessments the authority has now agreed to pay for work at the property.
A council spokesperson said that the authority does not comment on individual cases so could not confirm the cost of the works or the location of the sister’s house.
The LGO report, which is anonymised, said that Mrs X lodged a complaint saying that the council had failed to carry out adaptations to her property to meet the needs of her disabled sister, referred to in the report as Miss Z, during regular respite stays.
The report states that Miss Z needs help with transfers, eating and drinking, using the toilet and showering.
She lives with her parents in Leicester during the week and spends the weekends with her sister out of the area.
Adaptations have been carried out at her Leicester home where she is looked after by her elderly mother, Mrs Z. Her father recently had a stroke so can no longer help with her care.
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In a carer’s assessment in late 2016, Mrs Z said she was ‘permanently very tired, unable to attend to her own needs and low in mood’.
The ombudsman report states that Miss Z stays with her sister to give her mother a break. She is classed as Miss Z’s second carer and receives an allowance from the council.
The authority also pays for taxis to and from Leicester to Mrs X’s home.
The family wanted work to adapt Mrs X’s property carried out so that Miss Z can shower downstairs during her stays there.
The property does not have the facilities to properly meet Miss Z’s assessed need, to be safe and clean long-term.
The LGO report reveals that on at least one occasion, this has led to Miss Z travelling back to her Leicester home to shower due to her incontinence.
The council has made adaptations to Miss Z's permanent address and has also offered residential respite stays for Miss Z but her mother has turned them down saying she prefers her to be in the care of a family member.
The ombudsman said: “I do not find the council at fault.
“It has offered provision to meet Miss Z’s assessed needs, specifically to be safe and clean, in the form of residential care during respite periods that would allow her to shower.
“It is clear that family members are wholly dedicated to looking after Miss Z themselves. But while the family does not have to accept the provision offered, that does not create fault on the council’s part.
“Although the council has now carried out further assessments because Mrs X wants to increase the respite visits, it did not have to do so because it had already made offers that would have met the assessed needs."
A council spokesperson said: “The ombudsman has recognised that we are not at fault in this case.
“Before this was referred to the ombudsman, we had already decided to consider this case and use our discretion to support this family, so that they can make the adaptations required for family-based respite care to take place."
