Strengthened systems needed at West Berkshire Council's Community Care service

10.36.25am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 11th Aug 2009

The tragic death of Mr Boyle in January while he was receiving home care services from a contractor employed by West Berkshire Council has raised very serious questions that need detailed answers says Cllr Owen Jeffery, the Lib Dem spokesman for Community Care on the Council.

'Two specific areas have given me real misgivings' stated Cllr Jeffery following a review of the investigation into Mr Boyle's death that he had last week with the Portfolio Member and the Head of Service at West Berkshire Council. 'These are the apparent lack of direct oversight to ensure that contracted firms are running their services in accordance with our instructions. We seem to be overly reliant on their management procedures being effective - which in this instance we now know was sadly not the case - or on the possibility of service users or their families making complaints. I consider that we must strengthen the way in which we assure ourselves that our contracted agencies are operating entirely to the high standards we rightly demand of those who are serving some of the most vulnerable in our community.

The other area where I am uneasy is the way in which crucial information is passed from the care workers to the Council. The care workers are acting as the eyes and ears of the Council's community care service when they visit vulnerable people in their homes. The Council appears not to have reacted appropriately on one occasion to a telephone report which it received. This is recorded in the independent review that West Berkshire Council received early in July (it is this review that detailed the circumstances of what happened in this very sad case)'.

Cllr Jeffery has already spoken to the political and the service leadership of the Council to ask that these two areas should be immediately reviewed to ensure delivery of the best possible outcomes for all those having community care from this Council. He is also keen 'to see the report published with only personal information removed so the public can see what went wrong and how the situation needs to be improved. Secrecy is seldom a good way to proceed'.

Cllr Jeff Brooks, Lib Dem Leader on West Berkshire Council added "When areas are identified that properly give rise to concern then we must act vigorously and without delay to correct them. I hope that the administration will treat Cllr Jeffery's concerns with the seriousness that they deserve'.