Section 117 aftercare - paying for accommodation and care
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has recently found a local authority at ‘fault’ for failing to identify that a person had the right to free aftercare under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act when they were admitted to a care home. The Ombudsman stated: ‘There was a failure on the part of the Council to identify and review Mrs X’s s117 status which led to confusion for her family and specifically to actions which would not have taken place otherwise. As a result of the misinformation the family sold Mrs X’s house to pay for her care home fees.’
The local authority initially argued that: ‘The S117 was in place to help with the health matters of paranoia and hallucinations and that this was outlined in the S117 documentation. As such this did not extend to older adult frailty care, the type of care that (Mrs X) received in the two subsequent care homes.’ The local authority accepted this approach was not holistic and not in line with Section 117 aftercare when the Ombudsman became involved in the case.
The Ombudsman directed the local authority to reimburse the family member concerned £75,000 plus interest (over a period of more than a year) for the care home fees they had wrongly been told to pay.
Edge training provide a wide range of courses on the Mental Health Act including a specialist day on Section 117 aftercare: https://www.edgetraining.org.uk/commission-us
Books and wallcharts on the MHA, MCA and DoLS: https://www.bookswise.org.uk/
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