A care provider has been told to pay compensation to the wife and daughter of a late resident of one of its care homes over failing to properly record a serious fall and causing confusion over his fees.

The unnamed provider, which operates 14 homes across Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin including in north Shropshire, was found to be at fault on both counts in an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

It must now pay £750 compensation each to the wife and daughter of the man, named only as Mr Y in the report, and write off  the outstanding balance of £2,458 for his fees.

The report said Mr Y was a resident at the home in question from January 2018 until his death in February 2019.

The month after he moved in, his family was informed his fees would increase from April 1. His daughter, named as Mrs X, contacted the home multiple times over several months to query the increase but was not provided with an explanation until the August.

The report said: “The evidence showed Mrs X remained unclear about the care provider’s two fee levels.”

After Mr Y’s death, the provider sent Mrs X a letter asking for payment of the outstanding fees of £3,919, which was later revised to £2,458.

Mrs X also raised concerns over a fall her father suffered in February 2018, and the fact that it was not reported to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) until over a year later.

The ombudsman’s report said Mr Y, who was at a high risk of falls, fractured his pelvis after falling from a chair in the day room of the care home at 11pm one evening.

When Mrs X asked about the circumstances of her father’s fall, she was told he “liked to stay up late to chat and watch TV”.

Mrs X said her father was blind and deaf, did not watch TV and liked to go to bed early, and this information was in his care plan.

The report said: “After Mr Y’s fall, Mrs X asked the care home to add details of the incident to her father’s records. She repeatedly contacted the care provider about this.

“Over a year later, the care provider said that Mr Y’s fall was fully recorded and reported to CQC. Mrs X contacted CQC in May 2019. It had no record of Mr Y’s fall.”

The incident was not reported until 17 months after the event, in breach of CQC regulations.

The report said the provider had apologised that its policy had not been followed, and for its poor communication with the family.

The provider had also offered to write off the outstanding fees and pay £1,000 compensation to Mr Y’s estate.

The ombudsman concluded: “The care provider acknowledged that Mr Y’s fall was not fully reported at the time.

“More worryingly, I consider the events leading up to his fall were not fully recorded and this could have contributed to the incident.”

As well as paying the compensation and writing off the outstanding fees, the ombudsman said the provider should apologise to the family and provide evidence of how it had improved procedures, care plan systems and administrative processes.