Mental health and town hall bosses rapped over £8K bill which caused 'avoidable distress and worry'

Mental health and town hall bosses rapped over £8K bill which caused 'avoidable distress and worry'Mental health and town hall bosses have been rapped for causing a man and his family eight months of ‘avoidable distress and worry ’ over an £8,000 bill for supported living they had not been warned about. Although the bill was eventually waived, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust - acting on behalf of Trafford council - about the way the man’s discharge from hospital was handled.

Following the complaint by ‘Mr D’s’ father, ‘Mr F’, the Ombudsman said: “Mr D did not have the assessment of his needs properly recorded and reviewed in a person-centred way. The fault caused uncertainty to Mr F and Mr D’s mother.”

The Trust and the council has agreed to the Ombudsman’s recommendations and will apologise to the family and pay £300 to Mr D and a further £300 to his parents. Mr D, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), had been living at home with his parents when he was visited by police and a mental health practitioner before being detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA), known as being ‘Sectioned’, in August 2020.

READ MORE: Mum, 28, left disgusted after having to 'shield baby son's eyes' in Tesco Extra aisle

READ MORE: Their promises have been broken... we've been let down once again

Once the term of the detention had expired he remained in hospital as an ‘informal patient’. The Trust then started discussing Mr D’s discharge. He had the capacity to make specific decisions, but Mr F was Mr D’s Department for Work and Pensions appointee for benefits.

When Mr D was discharged from hospital to the supported living tenancy in