Alliance Care (Dales Homes) Limited (20 006 010)

Statement Upheld Residential care 18-Jan-2021

Summary: Mr P has complained on behalf of Mr R about the care he received by the Care Provider. The Ombudsman has identified various failings by the Care Provider about the level and adequacy of care provided to Mr R. This resulted in an injustice to Mr P and his family and so the Ombudsman has recommended a remedy.

Devon County Council (18 019 191)

Statement Upheld Residential care 15-Jan-2021

Summary: Mr F complained on behalf of his mother, Mrs X. Mr F complained about the Council’s handling of Mrs X’s placement at Edenmore Care home (the care home) which it arranged and commissioned. The Council was not fault for how it arranged Mrs X’s placement. There was also no fault in how the care home authorised Mrs X’s urgent Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard in April 2019. The care home failed to retain Mrs X’s medication records from July 2018 until March 2019. This is fault. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr F for the uncertainty this caused him. I have not investigated Mr F’s complaints about the ongoing authorisation of Mrs X’s Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard or the Council’s best interest decision to keep Mrs X at the care home. This is because the Court of Protection is considering these matters.

Birmingham City Council (19 008 352)

Statement Upheld Residential care 15-Jan-2021

Summary: Ms X complained the care home delayed taking her sister, Ms Z, to the hospital, where she died the following day. Ms X also has concerns over the information contained within the response to her complaint. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council’s handling of Ms X’s complaint but not with the care provided by the care home. The Council agreed to the Ombudsman’s recommendations to apologise to Ms X for the delays experienced and provide feedback to the care home about record keeping.

Sheffield City Council (20 000 246)

Statement Upheld Residential care 15-Jan-2021

Summary: Ms B complained the Council failed to involve her as next of kin or take account of her father’s wishes when placing him in a care home. Ms B complained the Council placed her father in an inappropriate placement, delayed meeting with her father to discuss his wishes, delayed completing a deprivation of liberty application, delayed completing a mental capacity assessment, failed to hold a best interests meeting, failed to carry out a safeguarding investigation and delayed completing an assessment when he was ready for discharge from hospital. The Council delayed meeting Ms B’s father and in carrying out a mental capacity assessment and safeguarding investigation. There is no fault in the other parts of the complaint. The Council’s delay is caused Ms B distress and created some uncertainty about whether the outcome would have been different. An apology and payment to Ms B, along with an action plan is satisfactory remedy.

Shaftesbury Care GRP Limited (20 004 599)

Statement Not upheld Residential care 15-Jan-2021

Summary: Mr X complained his relative’s jewellery went missing after she died at the care home. I have discontinued the investigation as there is no worthwhile outcome I could achieve by further investigation.

Agudas Israel Housing Association Limited (20 004 372)

Statement Not upheld Residential care 14-Jan-2021

Summary: Ms X complained about the care home’s treatment of her friend, Mrs Y, when giving end of life care, which caused distress to both of them. The Care Provider was not at fault.

Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited (19 005 019)

Statement Upheld Residential care 13-Jan-2021

Summary: Ms X complained the care home failed to provide the contracted accommodation she agreed to. The care home has accepted fault for not providing the contracted accommodation and delays in handling the complaint. The care home reduced the balance owed by £2,000. The Ombudsman considers this reduction a suitable way to remedy the injustice caused. The Care Home offered to remove the final seven days’ worth of charges due to Ms X vacating the room. The Ombudsman considers this reduction appropriate.

Stephen Greach (20 003 406)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 13-Jan-2021

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the care provided by the care home. This is because the care was funded by the NHS and therefore outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

H C-One Beamish Limited (19 019 329)

Statement Upheld Residential care 12-Jan-2021

Summary: Mr X complained about the care his late mother Mrs F, received at Melbury Court care home (the care provider) between February and July 2019. The care provider was at fault. The care provider failed to adequately administer Mrs F’s pain relief and failed to address her regular refusal of personal care. The care provider agreed to pay Mr X £250 to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty caused to him by the faults.

Minster Care Management Limited (19 016 901)

Statement Upheld Residential care 11-Jan-2021

Summary: We have found fault in the way the Home communicated with Mrs C and her family about a lift being out of service, its failure to offer Mrs C any alternative way to leave the Home for three months and its failure to properly respond to Mrs C’s complaint. The Home has agreed to apologise, to provide a financial remedy and to write to other residents who may have been similarly affected.