Staffordshire County Council (18 003 852)

Statement Upheld Residential care 19-Sep-2019

Summary: The complainant, Ms B, said the care and treatment provided to her late father when he was approaching the end of his life by Staffordshire County Council, Newford Nursing Home and University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust fell below expected standards. She also said the Home and the Trust did not communicate properly about the plan for her father’s care when he was discharged from hospital. As a result, she said she experienced distress and confusion. The Ombudsmen did not find fault in the care and treatment provided to the complainant’s father or in the way the authorities communicated with each other. However, the Home was not open and transparent with Ms B when it communicated the timing of her father’s death in the Home. The Council and the Home have agreed to the Ombudsmen’s recommendations and will apologise, make an acknowledgement payment and improve the Home’s procedures for planning end of life care with residents and their families.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (18 016 047)

Statement Upheld Residential care 18-Sep-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains that a care home failed to give her mother antibiotics as prescribed by her GP and failed to ensure she could drink. The Council is at fault as its safeguarding investigation was inadequate as it did not address itself to the fact the care home had not evidenced it had administered Mrs Y’s antibiotics between 8 and 10 January and did not investigate Mrs Y’s dehydration. The Council also did not identify Mrs X’s was making a complaint in 2017. These faults caused uncertainty and put Mrs X to avoidable time and trouble which the Council has agreed to apologise for.

Country Court Care Homes 2 Ltd (18 014 836)

Statement Upheld Residential care 18-Sep-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman has not found evidence of fault in the way the nursing home dealt with funded nursing care, its offer of rooms and the contract. The Home has already upheld a complaint about the care and records on 21 April 2018 and has responded appropriately so the Ombudsman does not recommend a further remedy.

North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (18 018 215)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 17-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr and Mrs Y complain about the services provided by the Council to their late daughter, Ms J. The Ombudsmen will not investigate their complaint against the Council, as it is unlikely an investigation would achieve anything further for Mr and Mrs Y.

Villa Maria Care Limited (19 007 959)

Statement Upheld Residential care 16-Sep-2019

Summary: Ms X complains failings by the Care Home led to her father’s premature death and caused financial loss. The Ombudsman will not investigate the care provided by the Care Home as it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome. The Ombudsman finds fault in how the Care Home charges residents. The Ombudsman recommends the Care Home provides a refund to Mr Y’s estate, remedies any injustice to other residents and takes action to prevent recurrence.

London Borough of Croydon (18 010 414)

Statement Not upheld Residential care 16-Sep-2019

Summary: Ms X complains failings by the Council led to her father’s premature death and caused financial loss. The Ombudsman finds no evidence of fault in the Council’s investigation of Ms X’s complaints about a care home or in its arrangements for Mr Y to return home.

Care UK Community Partnerships Limited (18 013 102)

Statement Upheld Residential care 16-Sep-2019

Summary: Ms C complains about the way the former manager of her mother’s care home treated her, when she raised concerns about her mother’s care. The Ombudsman found fault with the way in which the care provider handled Ms C’s complaint, for which it has agreed to apologise.

Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited (19 006 087)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 13-Sep-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs A’s complaint about care provided to her late mother, Mrs B, in 2016. This is because any further investigation could not add to the care provider’s responses or provide Mrs A with the outcome she wants. So there is no good reason for the Ombudsman to disapply the law and investigate this late complaint now.

Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (18 015 812)

Statement Upheld Residential care 13-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr C complains about the care Mr F received during the two weeks he spent at a nursing home, which had been arranged by the Council. The Ombudsman found fault with the care Mr F received at the home. The Council has agreed to waive Mr F’s care charge and apologise to Mr C for the distress he experienced.

The Fremantle Trust (18 016 159)

Statement Upheld Residential care 13-Sep-2019

Summary: Mr B complains for a relative, Mr C, that his care provider wrongly decided he needed one-to-one care, put that care in place and increased his fees to pay for it. Mr C passed away during the course of this investigation. The Ombudsman finds the provider was entitled to increase the care provision and to change for it, but should have provided information about the increased fees as soon as reasonably practicable, and in this case there was a delay. However, the provider took action to waive the relevant fees for an appropriate period and therefore Mr C did not suffer injustice as a result.