Mr C complained about the closure of his mental health day centre in 2020 including the lack of consultation. Mr C also raised concerns about the alternative day centre provision provided and why it was not appropriate for his needs. Mr C was dissatisfied with the Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaint responses that he had received. Mr C also complained about disputed direct payments he had made in relation to a personal assistant.
The Ombudsman did not consider that an investigation into Mr C’s main complaints would achieve much more as the complaint responses appeared reasonable.
The Council had not previously had an opportunity to address the specific direct payment issues that Mr C raised in its complaint responses. The Council as part of an early resolution/settlement agreed to respond to Mr C’s concerns in this area. It also agreed to provide Mr C with an updated invoice, apologise for invoicing errors and review whether there were lessons to be learnt and to inform/appropriately facilitate a social care/mental heath needs reassessment for Mr C.