London council slammed by watchdog after 500 police reports 'left unread by social workers'

"Because of the council's inertia, the man at the centre of this case was left at risk of significant harm. While we cannot say the accident which caused such a major injury would have been prevented if the council had acted sooner, the man's friends and family are left not knowing whether things might have turned out differently if he'd had the help he needed earlier."

"While we cannot say the accident which caused such a major injury would have been prevented if the council had acted sooner, the man's friends and family are left not knowing whether things might have turned out differently if he'd had the help he needed earlier. The council has agreed to put in place an action plan to improve how it responds to safeguarding alerts like these, including training staff on dealing with safeguarding referrals."

Haringey Council had more than 1,100 unread emails in its social work inbox, including 500 police reports. A resident at risk of homelessness and with health issues received no help despite a friend and emergency services contacting the council. The resident had a fall during a seizure that resulted in a life-changing injury. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said council inertia left the man at risk of significant harm. The council agreed to an action plan to improve responses to safeguarding alerts, including training staff on handling safeguarding referrals. Opposition councillors called the failures shocking and negligent.

Read at www.standard.co.uk