Kent County Council has been told to pay £7,500 in compensation after failing three times to investigate a complaint about how an elderly man died in a care home after an attack by a fellow resident.

The recommendation by the Local Government Ombudsman comes in a damning report into a complaint made by the man's daughter.

The report is highly critical of the way the complaint was handled and says KCC should improve the way it deals with monitoring the care provided in residential homes.

The inquiry followed an incident in which the man, who is not identified, was attacked by a fellow resident at the residential home.

Both were injured in the incident and the victim died in hospital two weeks later.

Social services began a safeguarding investigation involving the home and police but concluded that there was no history of violence involving the man's attacker and that the home had "robust risk assessments in place" for him.

However, the daughter complained of a cover up and asked for the case to be reviewed.

A second investigation criticised the initial inquiry, saying there was an unacceptable delay by the county council in reporting the incident to police and that safeguarding protocols had not been followed.

It also found social workers relied too heavily on what they were told by the home and did not follow procedure.

KCC offered the daughter £500 compensation but she complained to the ombudsman and social services agreed to a second inquiry.

"i find the actions of the home and the weaknesses in its systems and reviews... have caused an enduring injustice.
" – ombudsman anne seex

It was this that uncovered that the home had records of other violent incidents made by the attacker, who had been physically aggressive to other residents.

It also found the victim had not been reviewed by social services since 2009 - more than a year before the incident - because of work load pressure in the adult care department.

It also found that the daughter had been given wrong information by the council.

In her conclusion, ombudsman Anne Seex said: "The council's three failures to investigate the incident and Mrs B's [the daughter] concerns caused her significant injustice.

"She had to wait for more than a year for an answer to whether the death of her fatherc could have been prevented.

"This has caused her significant distress. She also had to spend a significant amount of time and trouble."

While stopping short of saying the man's death could have been avoided, she added: "I find the actions of the home and the weaknesses in its systems and reviews...have caused an enduring injustice.

"This is the feeling that her father's death could have been avoided if the council and the home had acted as they could."

It recommended that KCC remedy the injustice by paying the complainant £5,000 for her distress; a further £1,000 to reflect the time in taking up the complaint and £1,500 to provide a memorial to her father.

Cllr Graham Gibbens, KCC cabinet member for adult social care, said: "We take our safeguarding responsibilities very seriously and always seek to deliver a high standard of service.

"This incident involved an altercation between two residents in a private care home and as a result of the Ombudsman report, the care home has improved its practices. We, as the local authority have taken management action, improved staff training and local safeguarding arrangements and we have learnt lessons from this case and will continue to do so."