Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the care the complainants husband received in his care home between 2016 and early 2020. This is because the events happened too long ago and I see no good reason to exercise discretion and investigate them now.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the care that her late husband received in his care home between 2016 and March 2020. I will call Mrs X’s late husband Mr X. Mrs X says that Mr X received a number of injuries between 2016 and 2019, and that the final bill she received for his care in March 2020 was insensitive. Mrs X also complains about inaccurate reviews for the care home that have been posted on third party websites.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Care Provider.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. Mr X passed away in March 2020. Mrs X did not complain to the care provider until August 2021. Therefore, for the reasons set out in paragraph 3, this is a late complaint and I see no reason why it could not have been made sooner.
8. I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about reviews left on third party websites. This is because the care provide has no control over these sites and has therefore correctly told Mrs X she should contact the website directly. We would therefore not be able to find fault for how the care provider dealt with this matter.

Back to top

Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the events happened too long ago.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman