North Lincolnshire Council (21 007 291)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 11-Nov-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to safeguarding the complainant’s late mother. The complaint lies outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because it is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider the complaint now.

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council (21 007 652)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 09-Nov-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about inaccuracies and omissions contained in a safeguarding report completed in 2019 regarding her mother, Mrs C. This is because we could not add to the Council’s responses or make a different finding even if we investigated. The Council has apologised for its failings and explained what it has done to minimise the risk of similar occurrences happening again, we could achieve no more than this.

Lancashire County Council (20 002 578)

Statement Upheld Safeguarding 08-Nov-2021

Summary: Mr X complained about the quality of care his wife, Mrs X, received at the Council commissioned Care Home. He also complained the Council did not thoroughly investigate his concerns under its safeguarding investigation. The Care Home and the Council were at fault. The Care Home failed to give Mrs X the care she required and the Council failed to thoroughly investigate Mr X’s concerns under its safeguarding investigation. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr and Mrs X for the poor care it delivered to Mrs X and for the distress and time and trouble the matter caused them. It will also pay Mrs X £1000 to acknowledge the poor care she received and pay Mr X £250 to acknowledge the distress and time and trouble. Furthermore, the Council will review staff knowledge and training and ensure the Care Home has actioned the recommendations from the safeguarding review.

London Borough of Wandsworth (20 013 996)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 08-Nov-2021

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s interactions with the complainant during safeguarding investigations and a data breach. This is because the complainant has started court proceedings about these matters.

Staffordshire County Council (21 008 760)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 04-Nov-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with concerns about Mrs X’s mother. This is because Mrs X has a right to take this matter to the Court of Protection if she disagrees with decisions about her mother’s capacity and the Council’s actions have not caused her an injustice.

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (21 006 204)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 02-Nov-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council instigating a section 42 safeguarding enquiry. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault with the Council’s actions to warrant an Ombudsman investigation and further investigation could not add to the Council’s response or make a finding of the kind Mr B and Ms C want.

City of Wolverhampton Council (21 001 484)

Statement Upheld Safeguarding 02-Nov-2021

Summary: We upheld Mr X’s complaint about a safeguarding enquiry into his mother Mrs Y’s care. The Council has already apologised for the delay in investigating safeguarding concerns. It will make a symbolic payment to Mr X to reflect his avoidable distress.

Essex County Council (21 006 585)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 01-Nov-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s late complaint about the way the Council considered his complaint about Mrs C’s Care Provider. This is because there is not enough evidence of the Council’s actions causing a significant injustice to either Mr B or Mrs C to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.

City of Doncaster Council (21 007 528)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 01-Nov-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the way the Council considered a safeguarding alert she raised regarding her late husband, Mr B. This is because the Council has apologised for any distress caused to her and we could not add to this or make a different finding even if we investigated. Sadly, Mr B is now deceased so we could not provide a remedy for any fault an investigation might now uncover.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (20 013 878)

Statement Upheld Safeguarding 27-Oct-2021

Summary: Mrs X complained about the way the Council investigated a safeguarding concern regarding her adult son Mr Y’s college. The Council was at fault as the Local Authority Designated Officer wrongly considered the concern when Mr Y is an adult. This did not cause a significant injustice to Mr Y as the college investigated the concern and put procedures in place to prevent a recurrence. The Council has also taken action to prevent this happening again. The Council was at fault when it provided Mrs X with misleading and confusing advice and delayed dealing with her complaint. It has agreed to make a payment to acknowledge the frustration this caused her.