Danforth Care No. 1 Limited (25 004 224)

Statement Upheld Residential care 16-Dec-2025

Summary: Ms X complained about poor service during her respite stay at Heatherton House, and the care provider’s failure to escalate her concerns. She left early due to the undue distress caused. Ms X received a partial refund for the unused days since making the complaint to us. The evidence shows there was fault in the service, which the care provider acknowledged in its stage 1 response. Following our enquiries, the care provider offered a full refund for the whole stay, which is an appropriate outcome.

Hertfordshire County Council (25 011 044)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 16-Dec-2025

Summary: We will not investigate a complaint about a failure to tell a woman’s family when she died. Services provided coherent explanations for why they did not contact anyone. It is unlikely that an investigation would be able to find evidence of fault.

Laburnum House (Shaw) Limited (25 011 016)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 15-Dec-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Care Provider failing to return his late father, Mr Y’s, money and about it breaching its contract. This is because the complaint is late and we would not be able to achieve the outcome Mr X wants.

Borough Care Ltd (25 002 861)

Statement Upheld Residential care 12-Dec-2025

Summary: The Care Provider was at fault for not maintaining Y’s personal hygiene and for delaying its response to Mr X’s concerns about the matter. The Care Provider further failed to keep adequate records about the issue. It also failed to record how it assessed Y’s capacity when obtaining consent to use Y’s photograph for promotional purposes. The Care Provider agreed to apologise to Y to acknowledge the injustice these faults caused. It agreed to also carry out service improvements to improve its record keeping. There was no fault in the Care Provider’s accounting system or how it invoiced Y’s care fees.

James Hudson (Builders) Limited (25 010 314)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 10-Dec-2025

Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the standard of care in a care home up to December 2023. There is not a good reason for the delay in the matter being escalated to us. In any event, we could not achieve the outcome Ms X seeks. The Information Commissioner is best placed to consider Ms X’s request for information in 2025.

Berkley Care Blenheim Limited (25 000 452)

Statement Upheld Residential care 08-Dec-2025

Summary: There was fault in the quality of care provided to Mr X’s late grandfather Mr Y by the care home. It failed to carry out a thorough pre-assessment, delayed taking action when Mr Y’s food and fluid intake reduced and failed to properly assess and respond to Mr Y’s risk of falls. It also delayed billing Mr X. The care provider has agreed to apologise to Mr X for the distress and uncertainty this caused and confirm it has cancelled the bill. It has already taken action to prevent recurrence of the faults.

Leicestershire County Council (25 005 913)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 05-Dec-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about her mother’s care and treatment during September and October 2022. This is because a significant amount of time has passed since the events Miss X is complaining about occurred and it would have been reasonable for Miss X to complain to us sooner.

Sheffield City Council (24 019 982)

Statement Upheld Residential care 05-Dec-2025

Summary: There was significant fault on the part of the Council’s commissioned care provider which caused considerable injustice to the late Mr X. The Council has acknowledged the failings by the care provider and overseen service improvements and will now make a payment to acknowledge the distress and anxiety caused to Mr X’s sister Mrs Y.

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (24 018 961)

Statement Upheld Residential care 01-Dec-2025

Summary: Mrs B complained about the standard of care her mother, Mrs X, received when the Council organised a placement at Lakeside View Care Home. We uphold the complaint, having identified several areas of fault with the care provided to Mrs X, and inaccurate care records. There was also fault with the Council’s response to Mrs B’s complaint because it failed to acknowledge the distress caused by the Care Home’s actions. To remedy this injustice, the Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment.

Norfolk County Council (25 000 699)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 01-Dec-2025

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care in a residential care home. This is because it is unlikely we would add to previous investigations or reach a different outcome.