Ealing Council failed an elderly father with Parkinson’s related dementia by not answering his emails and calls, a watchdog has ruled.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has ruled that the council must apologise and retrain staff due to the failings.
In November 2024, the man, referred to as Mr X in the report, was discharged from hospital. Having previously lived independently, the council assessed that Mr X would now need reablement care with two carers attending four times a day.
Both Mr X and his son, Mr Y, were told that this package was free for the first six weeks, after which it would become chargeable following a financial assessment. Over the following month, Mr X’s health deteriorated, leading to a further three hospital admissions.
Mr Y requested his father was given an NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) assessment. This is a free evaluation to see if the NHS will fully fund long term care due to your needs.
Whilst the family progressed this, Mr Y requested his father’s care agency be changed due to a lack of consistency in the carers attending his father’s home. He also asked for the council to assist in completing the CHC checklist.
The council continued his care package, but placed Mr X on a waiting list for a social worker, who was assigned at the end of January. The Ombudsman found fault in the delay of providing support to complete the CHC checklist.
It took several weeks to assign Mr X a social worker meaning that the checklist was held up, delaying the start of the NHS process for financial support towards his care. In late January 2025, the six-week free care period ended. Around this time, Mr Y submitted the completed CHC checklist for assessment.
While this process was taking place, Ealing Council began charging Mr X but the watchdog found fault as the council had not first provided a written statement of how much his weekly contributions would be.
The Ombudsman also found fault with the council’s decision to put Mr Y back on a waiting list after his physical health began worsening and he required further support, on the basis they had not responded to Mr X’s request for a review.
A further fault was identified in the council directing the family to submit a ‘stage 2 complaint’ about the care charges, which did not exist. Mr Y then repeatedly tried to resolve the issues until June, however the council failed to return several calls, left emails unanswered, and bounced Mr Y between several departments without a clear point of contact. The Ombudsman found this to be a fifth fault.
In July 2025, the council apologised for communication failures and partially upheld his complaint, agreeing to suspend all care invoices and debt recovery actions until the NHS made a final CHC decision.
At the end of July, the NHS determined Mr X is eligible for full backdated funding for his care. This heavily reduced any financial loss. The council was ordered by the Ombudsman to apologise, pay Mr Y £150, and issue training reminders to staff.
Ealing Council was contacted for comment.
