Upheld, recommendations

Summary

Mr C took over business premises and carried out alterations to sub-divide it into separate units which he hoped could be rated separately for non-domestic rates purposes. Mr C said that Lanarkshire Valuation Joint Board did not communicate effectively with him about the valuations.

We found that although the valuation joint board had visited Mr C's business premises, there was no clear record of what had been discussed or agreed during that visit in terms of how the units would be treated from a valuation perspective, particularly concerning an interconnecting door between two of the units and a unit which had been further sub-divided into offices. Although the valuation joint board said they had explained to Mr C what was required before the units could be split we found a lack of evidence to support that position.

We found it had taken too long for the valuation joint board to separate one of the units, even after they had all the information they needed. They continued to contact Mr C by phone after he had asked twice for communication to be in writing or by email. We found it took too long for the valuation joint board to acknowledge an appeal and a complaint made by Mr C. We also found that an addressing error was not corrected in the timescale claimed by the valuation joint board.

Additionally we found the valuation joint board's response to Mr C's complaint failed to properly address a key issue that he had complained about, notably that their communication failed to address the points he had raised, which was unacceptable. We upheld Mr C's complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• carry out a review of record-keeping and communication, taking into account the issues identified with a view to making improvements and communicating changes to staff, and report back when the review is complete; and
• offer an apology for the communication failings identified.

Summary

When Mr and Mrs C decided to buy their housing association property they needed certificates from the council which showed their council tax payments were up to date. When they asked for the certificates the council said one could not be issued for Mrs C because she had council tax arrears. The council said the debt would need to be managed by their debt management partner.

We found that when Mr C first contacted the council they took around six weeks to deal with his enquiry, which was too long. The council provided inaccurate information to Mrs C by failing to include arrears from a previous address. The council also failed to pass the correct information to the debt management partner, which meant that Mrs C was only asked to pay a portion of the total amount outstanding. This caused a further delay. It was not until after Mr C complained that the council realised they had not notified Mr and Mrs C about arrears that Mrs C had at a previous address. All of this amounted to unreasonable confusion. The council explained that these things were the result of staff error.

We considered the council's handling of Mr and Mrs C's complaint. We found that the council had responded in time to the complaint. However the response failed to address Mr C's questions about how or why discrepancies had arisen in respect of the amounts owed, or what action had been taken as a result.

Recommendations

We recommended that the council:

• apologise for the multiple failings identified in the administration of the council tax debt and in the handling of the complaint; and
• provide a balanced account which sets out exactly what was owed in council tax, broken down by year, which accounts for all the amounts paid, any charges added, and any amounts written off.

Summary

Ms C complained that, following an agreement with the council that certain items would be removed from her late father's property following his death, the council in fact cleared the whole property, including personal effects.

The council acknowledged that this had been due to a miscommunication between their staff and apologised for the error. They had offered compensation but Ms C was not satisfied with the amount offered and that the rationale behind the amount had not been explained to her. Despite Ms C requesting an explanation from the council shortly after they made the offer, no explanation was forthcoming, despite a reminder from Ms C. The council eventually explained that a proportion of the compensation reflected the estimated cost of furnishings removed from the property and a proportion was intended to provide a contribution towards a memorial for Ms C's father in recognition of the personal items that were lost as a result of the miscommunication. However, this explanation was not given until some two and a half months later, and after Ms C had brought her complaint to us.

Our investigation focused on the council's delay in providing the explanation and found that despite the information being readily available at the time of Ms C's original request, it was not provided in a timely manner. The information was neither confidential nor commercially sensitive so there was no reason not to provide it to Ms C. We found this to be unreasonable, so we upheld the complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that the council:

• apologise to Ms C for the additional distress and inconvenience caused by the delay in explaining the rationale behind the compensation offer.

Summary

Miss C complained that the housing association unreasonably failed to carry out work on her kitchen to the agreed specifications. Miss C raised a number of concerns, including that the association failed to supply and fit a breakfast bar and that the work took longer than the three days suggested by the association. Miss C said that she had to pay to have the breakfast bar installed and that the delay in the completion of the work meant that her daughter, who has a learning disability, had to stay in a caravan for a further week, and Miss C had to pay for this extra week's accommodation.

The evidence suggested that the association agreed to fit a hinged breakfast bar in Miss C's kitchen. The association said that when Miss C's tall fridge freezer was put back in place it was clear that the hinged breakfast bar could not be included in the design. However, Miss C said that she had an under counter fridge, not a tall fridge freezer, when the kitchen was planned and fitted, so the breakfast bar could have been included. We did not see clear evidence that a breakfast bar could not be fitted or evidence that the change in position was explained and confirmed to Miss C at the time. We concluded that the association unreasonably failed to carry out the works to Miss C's kitchen to the agreed specifications and we upheld Miss C's complaint.

It appeared that the reason the work in Miss C's kitchen took longer than expected was due to extensive re-plastering of the kitchen walls and this appeared to have been caused by the removal of Miss C's kitchen wallpaper. There was no documentary evidence indicating that, as Miss C suggested, the association told Miss C to remove the kitchen wallpaper. In these circumstances, we did not see evidence that the association acted unreasonably in this regard.

Recommendations

We recommended that the association:

• feed back our decision on Miss C's complaint to the staff involved;
• put in place a system to record agreed works with tenants and any modifications subsequently required and agreed and ensure their records show when jobs are completed;
• compensate Miss C for the cost of installing her breakfast bar on receipt of appropriate invoices; and
• provide Miss C with a written apology for the failings identified.

Summary

Mrs C complained about the housing association on behalf of Mr A, a former tenant, regarding charges he had received for repairs required after he had left his property. He accepted that he had been asked at a pre-termination inspection to re-paint two walls but disputed the amount being requested, as he suspected that the amount was for further works that he was unaware of and had no opportunity to rectify.

Our investigation found that the association's communication with Mr A had been poor, with little information or justification given for the charges he was being asked to pay. We also found that the association's records showed that the works Mr A was being charged for were the painting of an entire room, including the ceiling and woodwork, even though only wall painting had been recorded as required on the inspection sheet signed by him and an inspector. Therefore, we upheld the complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that the association:

• provide us with clarification of how the additional charge to change the locks was added to Mr A's invoice;
• calculate the amount payable by Mr A by determining what portion of the cost of the paint work related to two black walls;
• consider reducing the revised amount payable by Mr A by 50 percent in light of the administrative failures;
• apologise to Mr A for the failings identified; and
• reflect on the learning from this case to inform the review of the rechargeable repairs procedures they have advised us that they are undertaking.

Summary

Ms C complained about dampness issues on behalf of her client (Ms A). Ms A had downsized from a larger housing association property and signed a new tenancy agreement for a smaller home. She pointed out issues with dampness within the property and the association agreed to carry out works. Ms A had not yet given up the tenancy on her original home and continued to live there while work was undertaken. The association charged Ms A for rent for the new property whilst the works were being carried out. Ms C complained that the association had not ensured that the property was in a reasonable condition for Ms A to move into and that they had unreasonably charged her rent when repairs were being carried out.

We found that there had been issues with water ingress previously at the property, which work had been done on, and that the association had expected areas of damp to dry out once the house was occupied. However, this was not noted on the inspection report and we considered that there was a lack of evidence that the association had taken areas of damp in the hallway and living room into account when determining whether the property was in a habitable condition. We upheld Ms C's complaint about this.

We also upheld Ms C's complaint about rent charges. We found evidence that the association had advised Ms C's office that Ms A would not be charged rent for the property until it was ready for occupancy. We made a number of recommendations to the association.

Recommendations

We recommended that the association:

• remove any rent charges for the property covering the period from when Ms A signed the tenancy agreement to when the association notified her that she could collect the keys for the property;
• consider having an independent professional assessment of any dampness at the property; and
• consider whether a further reduction in rent would be appropriate on the basis of any ongoing dampness at the property.

Summary

Mrs C was removed from the treatment list of her GP practice following a difficult visit to the practice. Her husband (Mr C) complained about this and Mr and Mrs C were invited to a meeting to discuss the investigation. At the meeting they felt that no investigation had been undertaken and subsequently complained to us. The reasons the practice gave us for removing Mrs C from their treatment list did not meet the relevant criteria in legislation, policy or guidance for the immediate removal of a patient from a treatment list and we could see no other evidence that immediate removal was warranted. We saw no evidence that Mr C's complaints were dealt with in line with the NHS Scotland complaints procedure. As a result, we upheld both complaints.

Recommendations

We recommended that the practice:

• apologise to Mrs C for unreasonably removing her from their treatment list;
• review their policy for removal of patients to ensure it reflects the relevant regulations and General Medical Council guidance;
• ensure all staff are aware of the revised policy and are trained in managing difficult and challenging behaviour and in particular de-escalation techniques;
• apologise to Mrs and Mr C for not responding to the letter of complaint in line with the NHS Scotland complaints procedure; and
• ensure that staff with responsibility for responding to complaints are aware of the detail of the NHS Scotland complaints policy and related guidance.

Summary

Mrs C complained about the care and treatment given to her late husband (Mr A) at Ninewells Hospital where he was a patient from March to September 2014, when he died. She said that there was a delay in making his diagnosis and that information was given to him in an uncaring and uncompassionate way. She also complained that there was often confusion about her husband's medication and that his pain was not properly managed.

We took independent advice from consultants in oncology and radiology and also from a senior nurse practitioner. We found that while Mr A's care and treatment had been appropriate and reasonable, his pain had been very difficult to control (due to his complex condition) and communication had not been as good as it could have been. He was given upsetting information at a time when support was not available to him, and was given his diagnosis over the phone. There was also confusion about his medication and treatment. In particular, there was confusion about Metformin (a drug Mr A was taking for diabetes) and whether he needed to stop taking it before his imaging test. When Mrs C later complained about these circumstances, the board delayed in providing her with a response. In view of this, we upheld Mrs C's complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• send an appropriate letter of apology;
• ensure that the clinicians involved in this case are made aware of our findings, and that they are considered as part of the clinicians' next formal appraisal;
• review their policy on withholding Metformin;
• ensure that all patients receive suitable information prior to undergoing scans;
• provide a formal apology for the delay in responding to the complaint; and
• remind staff of the importance of replying to complaints in a timely manner.

Summary

Mrs C was referred to Perth Royal Infirmary due to a missing intrauterine system (IUS - a contraceptive device). A scan showed the IUS could be in her abdomen, but she was then found to be pregnant, so no x-ray could be done to confirm the exact location. The pregnancy was not viable and a medical miscarriage was performed. Mrs C was discharged after this without an x-ray to locate the missing IUS. Her GP arranged an x-ray, which showed the IUS was in her abdomen, and she was referred to gynaecology for surgery to locate and remove it. Mrs C raised concerns about the failure to x-ray her after the medical miscarriage, and about her surgery (which was more complex than expected). Mrs C said she was told an x-ray would be taken before the surgery to confirm the exact location of the IUS, and she queried why this did not happen. Mrs C also complained about delays in her gynaecology appointment and in the board's response to her complaint.

The board agreed Mrs C should have been x-rayed after her medical miscarriage and they apologised for this. They said the delay in gynaecology appointments was due to increased demand, and they were taking action to improve this. However, they considered the surgery was carried out appropriately.

After taking independent medical advice, we upheld Mrs C's complaints. We agreed the board should have x-rayed Mrs C earlier, and we found unreasonable delays in arranging the gynaecology appointment. However, we found that the surgery was carried out reasonably. The adviser explained that x-rays are not normally used to confirm the location of an IUS before surgery, as an x-ray cannot show the exact location (in three dimensions) and the position of the IUS can also change during the surgery as the patient is moved. We found the delay in responding to Mrs C's complaint was unreasonable, as the bulk of the delay (over five weeks) was caused by a delay in the draft response being signed off, rather than the investigation itself.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• demonstrate to us the steps being taken to ensure the national standards for waiting times for gynaecology can be met;
• apologise to Mrs C for the failings we found; and
• review their processes for clearing draft complaint letters, to ensure this does not cause undue delay.

Summary

Mr C complained about the length of time he had to wait for surgery for prostate cancer and said that the board did not provide treatment in line with the national waiting time targets. We took independent advice from a medical adviser. We found that the GP referral for Mr C was acted on promptly by the board's urology service and the time taken to reach a diagnosis of prostate cancer was reasonable taking into account the complexity of Mr C's case. However, after the decision was reached to proceed with surgical treatment for Mr C's cancer there was a lack of co-ordination in gathering all the information and beginning treatment which meant the waiting time target was not met. Although we found that the delay was unlikely to have affected the long-term outcome, the delay and lack of information provided would have added to the uncertainty and anxiety for Mr C at what would have been a very difficult time for him. We concluded that the overall care he received was not of an acceptable standard and led to an avoidable delay.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• apologise to Mr C for the failings identified; and
• review the circumstances regarding Mr C's case to ensure that, in future cases, care is appropriately co-ordinated with adequate information given to the patient and taking into account appropriate waiting time targets.