Safeguarding in supported living

[Chaseonthecase]

Son has been in supported living service for 18 months. I have deputyship for finance and medical. Can I make best interest decisions on his behalf and legally enforce them on the care providers? Here is why I ask: the manager of the house text and asked me if a carer could take him on a “small train ride” which I agreed to. However once at the station and on a whim, the carer asked him where he would like to go - he mentioned the name of the station where he used to live in the family home - this is the only station name he knows. The carer decided it was appropriate to take his word on it and spend £50 on a train ticket taking him on a three hour 90 mile round trip involving six trains and not returning until after dark. I think this is a massive overstepping of the mark and before I take it further would like the views of others. There are other issues regarding food which I won’t bore you with now but any thoughts on the above specifically would be much appreciated. He still has an EHCP and just turned 20. Severe learning difficulties and autism limited speech and understanding hence why I have Court of Protection.

[Hidden]

I believe you may have to define where your problem lies specifically.

As you have deputyship for Health and Wellbeing as well Property and Affairs and your comment raises a speculative basis to cite a concern in both domains then it may not be possible to express a precise response that holds muster.

But for what it is worth the outing may have been an appropriate event and commensurate with your son's own pleasure.

If he loves trains or not (you consented to a train) then £50 for a 90 mile round trip may be a very special British farce of a good or bad use of money on a worthless railroad company.

If it is your son's wellbeing that matters then his care provider needs to explore where your son's capacity (emotional capacity) lies and act in HIS best interest.

So is it £50 or Capacity?

[Chaseonthecase in reply to Hidden]

Thank you parental. No it’s not the money specifically although my son will pay bank charges for going overdrawn and the cost is half of his weekly food and bill allowance left after paying for his care. It’s the lack of planning, being out with a carer just past their probation period, returning in the dark, not taking appropriate snacks or drinks, no risk assessment. In my opinion it’s a safe guarding incident.

[Hidden in reply to Chaseonthecase]

Indeed.

Raise the flag.

[Bergersil400 in reply to Chaseonthecase]

Could it not be as simple as telling the care provider that as you are responsible for his finance & you don't want him to go overdrawn, and a call to you first to get permission to run such a trip, so that you could add extra funds to his account if he wishes to go.

I don't yet have deputyship, but shortly after my daughter moved to supported living I noted that they had bought her Chinese takeaway which I wasn't happy about as had set out in a booklet I had made not to do this. I set up a teams meeting to chat about the issue, and as far as I know there has been no other times that they have bought her a Chinese takeaway.

Food is an area that I am very strong about, as I don't want her developing lifestyle issues, as well as her learning disability. When we bring her back, each week, we always make sure we replenish her fridge/cupboard with more healthy choices .

[Jofisher]

hi I have a deputyship as well check what your court order says as that will tell you what you have a say on in particular and then I would speak to the court of protection people or the person you normally contact there and discuss with them, also the care quality commission are also extremely helpful. You then have all the information and advice to then go back to the providers to challenge

[Chaseonthecase in reply to Jofisher]

thank you I will look into this

[TPrider]

The key here is 'capacity'. Whilst it seems obvious to us as parents that they lack meaningful capacity the law is quite different. It supposes capacity exists until or unless it is proven otherwise.

When was the last capacity assessment done? Does it apply to this situation or was it for something unrelated? Strangely, there is no one capacity assessment which decides someone has overall capacity or not. It might decide they have capacity to choose their clothes and food and yet, not for where they live.

If it is LPA you have then, understand whether the finance side applies already or only when capacity is lacking. If it is guardianship them read what the document says. Again, it will depend on capacity.

Capacity is used as a weapon by care providers and social services these days sadly. When they want things to go a certain way, our loved one magically have the capacity to make a decision which agrees with them.

Certainly on the basis of a weekly budget then the carer overstepped by spending more than was affordable. You need to have an agreement whereby if they feel they need to overspend they can contact you and arrange it in advance. In this case, where would they have been had the overspend not been available? Who would have rescued them from the other end of beyond.

Likewise there are insurance issues. If the carer went beyond their working day they may well have not been insured.

My inclination though is to have a quiet unofficial work with the care provider and see if it cannot be resolved unofficially.

[Chaseonthecase]

I have court of protection deputyship for health and well being and finances. He lacks capacity in these areas.

[sl20]

Hi, it sounds as though the member of staff is possibly new or needs some training. I would think maybe having a word with the house manager about your concerns might solve the problem. I would be careful though otherwise in the future you may find staff won’t go that extra mile to make your sons life enjoyable because they get into trouble. I am speaking from the perspective of a parent of a son in supported living so know there are many problems but also I have worked as a personal assistant and know that sometimes mistakes are made even with the best intentions.