Care home woman's fall prompts council apology

West Berkshire Council has been told to apologise for causing avoidable distress for not explaining the circumstances of a fall in a care home.

The Local Government Ombudsman says the council was at fault for its poor complaint responses.

But the local authority was found not to be at fault for placing the woman concerned into a care home in Marlborough – outside the district.

The case was brought by Mr X, whose late mother, Mrs Y, had been placed in Marlborough Lodge Care Home by the council.

The family claimed this was too far away, and that she had had a fall there which was not explained.

Mrs Y had been in hospital in summer 2021 due to wandering and confusion.

The council said it did not complete a social care assessment before Mrs Y was discharged from hospital because she required an emergency placement.

This was due to her husband’s health declining and therefore he could no longer look after her at home.

The social worker consulted three care homes but two homes declined to offer Mrs Y a place.

The social worker spoke to the daughter (Ms Z), who is noted to have said she was happy and agreed to the placement.

The fall happened when Mrs Y got up from the dining table at the home to compliment the chef on the food.

She fell backwards, and broke her hip. The ombudsman deemed this to be an accident and not the fault of the care home.