A ‘DISTRESSED’ Bucks mum and dad were given an apology and £2,500 from Buckinghamshire Council after their son was given sleeping pills without their consent.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ruled the care provider, Poppy Cottage Limited in Denham, was at fault for giving their son sleeping pills every other night, without his or their consent, for seven months.

The parents, anonymised as Mr and Mrs X, said it has caused them significant unnecessary distress and they are concerned about the impact on their son, referred to as Mr B, of wrongly being given medication.

Mr B has a learning disability and suffers from an impairment of the brain which affects his ability to make certain decisions for himself.

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He is cared for at the Denham residential home, which the Council commissioned and funds the placement.

In November 2020, the Care Provider’s staff told Mr B’s GP he was not sleeping well.

The GP prescribed sleeping tablets to be used ‘when needed’. Staff then gave Mr B this medication every other night.

In July 2021, Mrs X contacted the Poppy Cottage with concerns about excessive use of this medication. The Care Provider stopped giving Mr B this medication and investigated Mrs X’s concerns.

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As such, Bucks council carried out a safeguarding investigation and found neglect and acts of negligence.

The LGO said between June and September 2021, the Council received at least five safeguarding concerns about the Poppy Cottage Limited about substantiated neglect and acts of omission which included missing medication, and poor records around medication and administration of medication.

After an unannounced visit by the Care Quality Comission, the care provider was found to be in breach of Regulation 12 because it failed to ensure medication was managed and administered to people safely. 

Last year, Poppy Cottage Limited was rated as 'inadequate' after Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors visited the care home in July.

Inspectors made an unannounced visit after receiving complaints from concerned family members about staffing levels, medicine errors, an allegation of abuse and poor management.

Poppy Cottage Limited said they accept medication audits were not detailed enough and did not raise concerns about the regularity of medication being given ‘when needed’

They also admitted that they should have contacted Mr and Mrs X to discuss the change in Mr B’s medication at any point.

Poppy Cottage Limited apologised to Mr and Mrs X in writing in May 2022, nearly a year after this issue came to light, and six months after they complained.

Councillor Angela Macpherson, Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said: “We accept the findings of the Ombudsman in this case and apologise for any distress caused to those involved in this case.

"As the Ombudsman report details, we have carried out a number of actions since the complaint was made and continue to work with this care provider to ensure any person placed in its care receives the high standard of care everyone should rightly expect.”  

The council has been ordered to make a payment to Mr and Mrs X, on behalf of Mr B, of £1,500 to acknowledge the injustice caused by exposing Mr B to avoidable risk of harm.

As well as this, Mr and Mrs X will receive £1,000 to acknowledge the 'unnecessary distress' caused.