cuckoo

[Dedebeulah]

I would like to obtain advice about someone I believed to be taken advantage of via cocoon and would like to obtain procedure into how to complain as Care Coordinator believes that he is able to make choices regarding finances and I believe him to be exploited. Please advise. Thank you

[LaVerite]

Hi Dedebeulah.

A sad state of affairs and not uncommon.

Here's my own thoughts:

- Raise a safeguarding complaint with the Local Authority.

- Contact the Care Quality Commission about your concerns if he is in a home.

- If there's a financial deputy involved, contact the Office of Public Guardian.

- Obtain an independent assessment of his capacity to make financial decisions, and in particular can he understand bookkeeping; what has been bought and what the receipts (hopefully they will be valid) are for; how much is in his bank account at any time etc; what is value for money; what is prudent spending; how to tell if he's being ripped off etc

- If he qualifies for legal aid or has lots of money, consider applying to the Court of Protection for a decision and make sure those who are looking out for him abide by any Orders.

Not easy, but hope this is food for thought.

[Dedebeulah in reply to LaVerite]

thank you so much for your valuable advice. Much appreciated. Xx

[Chocolate-heals-all]

Hi Dedebeulah,

That’s a tricky one. I have met others who have had similar concerns, witnessing a person getting exploited and hearing the carers saying simply “the individual has mental capacity”. Capacity legislation states that each decision needs to be examined in its own right.

It might be a good idea to gather any evidence you have and make an emergency application to the Court of Protection: other solutions (I’ve put some ideas below) are very slow. Mencap or the Elfrida Society or Resources for Autism may be able to help with this process. Or even MIND.

In this situation, the question is not merely whether this individual can do their own book-keeping and can add and substract numbers. The further key question is whether their autism or learning disability is making it hard for them to judge the motivations of people approaching them and claiming to be “friends”. If they indeed have a difficulty with this, then the carers are guilty of neglect should they withhold support. The tricky thing is how to help this individual, bearing in mind the poor training received by most carers. You might be able to escalate and talk with the supervisor of the carer team or escalate further. Possibly get social services to amend the care plan and to add cuckooing as a risk. The individual may need a further psychiatric assessment, and that can take years.

Concepts like reciprocity can be taught. You might try approaching your local adult learning disabilities service. They might be able to provide this individual with mentoring to help them to navigate “friendships” and to assess whether their friendships are helpful or destructive.