A Wembley care provider has refused to apologise to a family for providing poor quality care because it was the late owner’s dying wish not to do so.

For the second time Peepal Care Ltd had been found at fault by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, and has decided not to comply with its recommendations. This has led to the Ombudsman issuing a second extremely rare Adverse Findings Notice against the company.

Peepal Care is the only domiciliary care provider in England to have received two such notices.

In this case, the company was contracted to provide care for a woman in her home after she had a stroke. Crucially, the woman needed hoists to help her, but none of the four care workers the company sent over the six-day period had experience in using hoists safely.

One of the carer workers had no training, and did not have the right to work in the country.

The family complained to the Ombudsman about the poor quality of staff Peepal Care provided, and that the company only gave them a day’s notice before pulling out of the contract – leaving them having to find an urgent alternative.

The Ombudsman upheld the family’s complaint and made recommendations to put things right for the family and improve its services for others. The provider has declined to comply with the Ombudsman’s recommendations because, it claims, it was the late owner’s dying wish not to do so. It also argues it would show culpability to the family and leave it open to further claims.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said

“It is frankly unheard of for an organisation to use such an irrational excuse as a reason not to comply. That this is the only home care provider in England to have received two Adverse Findings Notices highlights just how much of an outlier this type of action is.

 

“The disdain it has shown towards our investigation, not to mention the family’s concerns, reflects poorly on Peepal Care.

 

“Our investigations, and how companies respond when we ask them to put things right, give families valuable information about who to choose when considering who to employ to look after their loved ones.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s role is to remedy injustice and share learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the provider should apologise to the family and pay them £400 to acknowledge its failings and the time and trouble and distress stemming from the complaint. It should also reduce the outstanding invoice by half for failing to provide the expected level of service.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the provider should show the Ombudsman it has put procedures in place to recruit and vet all care workers properly. It should also ensure all care workers are properly trained before starting duties, or are supervised till training is complete. It should ensure care records are completed and stored in accordance with CQC guidelines and undertake training on data protection.

Una ciudadana acudió al Síndic porque llevaba desde diciembre de 2020 sin percibir los 955€ mensuales de la renta valenciana de inclusión (RVI). En julio de ese año, había solicitado a los servicios sociales municipales una «modificación» de la cuantía de la RVI porque los ingresos de la unidad familiar habían variado. Sin embargo, el ayuntamiento inició, por error, el trámite de «extinción» de la prestación en lugar del de «modificación».

El pasado mes de noviembre, el defensor del pueblo valenciano dictó una resolución en la que indicaba que el citado «error» no se podía atribuir, en ningún caso, a la persona interesada, que solicitó la modificación de condiciones de la RVI hace más de 16 meses y que seguía sin percibir su RVI. En este sentido, Luna urgía a resolver la modificación de la prestación a la mayor brevedad.

Desde esta institución se viene insistiendo en que las demoras en la tramitación y resolución de los expedientes de renta valenciana de inclusión agravan la situación de pobreza y exclusión social de los solicitantes, máxime en el momento actual de pandemia. Y en esa situación de necesidad y desesperación se encontraba la mujer afectada por el citado error administrativo.

Finalmente, en enero de este año, la Conselleria de Igualdad y Políticas inclusivas comunicó al Síndic que había resuelto la modificación de su RVI y que se le reconocía una prestación mensual de 955 € y abonándole al mismo tiempo los atrasos correspondientes por un importe de 17.652 €. Una información que nos corroboró la ciudadana que presentó la queja y que puso fin a nuestra actuación.

Consulta nuestra actuación sobre este asunto.

Auf Einladung der Hochschulgruppe "Junges Forum Verfassungsrecht" an der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster hielt Dr. Herzberg am 24.01.2022 einen Online-Vortrag und stellte sich den Fragen der Studierenden. Unter dem Titel „Der Bürgerbeauftragte  - Konfliktmanagement im Bürger-Staat-Dialog“ gab Herzberg Einblicke in seine Tätigkeit als Thüringer Bürgerbeauftragter. Die Studierenden zeigten sich überaus interessiert und beteiligten sich rege an der anschließenden Diskussion.


Im Nachgang dazu reflektierte die Vorsitzende der Hochschulgruppe, Fiene Kohn, den Abend und sandte dem Bürgerbeauftragten den von der Hochschulgruppe geposteten Text:


„Am Montag, den 24. Januar 2022, konnten wir Herrn Dr. Kurt Herzberg, den Bürgerbeauftragten des Freistaats Thüringen, beim Jungen Forum Verfassungsrecht begrüßen. Herr Herzberg, einer von nur fünf Bürgerbeauftragten deutschlandweit, hat uns einen Überblick über seinen Aufgabenbereich gegeben und uns anhand verschiedener Praxisbeispiele erläutert, wie er den Bürgern zu ihren Rechten verhelfen kann. Als Jurastudenten sind wir (zu) oft auf das Verwaltungsrecht fokussiert und verstehen die Kommunikation zwischen Verwaltung und Bürger als einen sehr einseitigen, rechtlichen und durch Verwaltungsakte geprägten Prozess. Mit Herrn Herzberg reflektierten wir, wieso das für viele Bürger ein Problem darstellt und wie der Bürgerbeauftragte durch sein Wissen über Funktionsweise und Recht der Exekutive sowohl Erklärungsarbeit gegenüber den Bürgern helfen kann, als auch effizient die bürokratischen Hürden der Verwaltung überwinden kann. Wir danken Herrn Dr. Herzberg für die Einblicke in seinen Alltag und die spannende Diskussion!“

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? After campaigning for rails in 2021, the European Commission and Parliament designated 2022 as the European Year of Youth. The goal: creating a better future with young people. This provides an opportunity for equality bodies to instill optimism and fight discrimination against the backdrop of the pandemic.

Discriminated and scarred

It may seem that young people are less discriminated but they report more perceived age discrimination than other age groups. One in four people between 15 and 24 have personally felt discriminated against or experienced harassment on one or more grounds in the past 12 months. It is even worse for those belonging to a marginalised  group.

Hate speech and other forms of violence is only one of many discriminatory experiences affecting young people in particular. For instance, they may encounter barriers in finding a permanent job, accessing  information and healthcare services, or in participating in political decision making. The COVID-19 pandemic

Young people worry about their life ‘stalling’ and a loss of independence. The European Youth Forum reported  a considerable loss of work and income as a result of unemployment and reduction in working hours. In Germany, a few cases were recently reported about young people being rejected from a position, paid less and getting less holidays because of their age.

Furthermore, being enrolled or staying at home is not necessarily a healthier alternative. Still according to the Youth Forum report, two out of three students believe they are learning less as a result of school and university closures. Almost two out of three young people may be affected by anxiety or depression as a result of the pandemic. Also, the wellbeing of women and those belonging to the LGBT+ community was at an even higher risk when being forced to spend more time at home. Yet, while the pandemic hits marginalised youth disproportionately,  there is a flicker of hope.

48% want 2022 to focus on inclusion

The European Year of Youth brings young people and their interests in the spotlight. Education, climate and health rank high, followed by a promising fourth issue: Nearly every second respondent selected “Inclusive societies, including gender, anti-discrimination” as their preferred theme. However, 63% do not know how to share their views. Equality bodies can help make their voice heard.

Young people welcome digital and physical events. Online channels work well to convey information about rights and opportunities. They appreciate interactive dialogues, workshops and debates on social media, yet want these to lead to real outcomes presented to EU decision makers. Activities should also include peers, disadvantaged rural youth, trusted influencers and the older generation.

The Croatian Ombudswoman showed how it can be done. She included a young person living in a rural area as a speaker on a panel she organised in the Parliament, called “Away From the City, Away From Rights”. It was a discussion about human rights in rural areas and the young person talked about the youth perspective, giving them equal footing in the discussion with the usual suspects from academia and state officials.

Promoting equality together

Equality bodies can empower young people in three ways. The first step is to make youth a priority for your organisation. This could mean dedicating a budget to youth related work, regularly contacting the national coordinator, collecting relevant data and/or organising specific activities through the European Youth Portal at least every quarter.

Secondly, cooperate with youth organisations. You get access to a larger pool of knowledge, experience, good practises and tools. You can also reach more youth than you would by yourself, particularly those on the margins of society at risk of experiencing violations of their rights. 2022 is an opportunity to establish many long-term partnerships.

Thirdly, engage with educators and the people next door. If you want them to share more than their story, develop a fair cooperation agreement, offer training and compensate them for their work. There are plenty of ordinary people out there who are not famous but broke stereotypes and inspired others to make a difference, too.

L’Office de la Protection du Citoyen (OPC), Institution Nationale indépendante de Droits Humains, condamne sans réserve, les attaques violentes perpétrées contre le sous-commissariat de Bon Repos survenues dans la nuit du 30 au 31 janvier 2022 et qui ont occasionné la mort par balles d’un policier : Joseph Jork Blada. Un autre policier est sorti grièvement blessé au cours de ces attaques.

Toujours dans la même soirée, le local de la station Zénith FM, situé à Bon Repos a été aussi l’objet d’attaques violentes. Selon des informations rapportées, des bandits armés ont lancé des “cocktails Molotov” sur l’enceinte de la station à Bon Repos (bloc lilavois).

L’OPC constate avec préoccupation et inquiétude que, depuis le début de l’année 2022, les policiers et les travailleurs de la presse deviennent la cible des bandits armés opérant sans foi ni loi dans l’indifférence des autorités étatiques.

L’OPC rappelle qu’il est de la responsabilité de l’État de protéger les vies et les biens. Les policiers doivent être aussi protégés dans le cadre de l’exercice de leur mission et cette obligation relève des attributions du Conseil Supérieur de la Police Nationale et du pouvoir central, en général.

L’OPC demande aux instances concernées de diligenter une enquête sur ces attaques criminelles aux fins d’identifier les auteurs et de les punir conformément à la loi pénale.