Suffolk County Council (23 018 296)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Domiciliary care 28-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of a care provider supporting Mr B with adult social care on behalf of the Council. Mr B says care workers stole from him, damaged his property, and will not give him information about allegations of harassment by him. There are other bodies better placed to consider these issues, they are the police, an insurance company, and the information commissioner’s office.

London Borough of Ealing (23 010 991)

Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 28-Mar-2024

Summary: Ms X complains the Council has overcharged her late father for the care he received between May and August 2022. On the balance of probabilities, the Council has overcharged Ms X’s father for his care. It needs to apologise and reduce to charges to one call a day. It also needs to improve its working practices to prevent similar problems from happening again.

London Borough of Islington (23 017 163)

Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 27-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about inadequate domiciliary care. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not achieve a more meaningful outcome as the Council has now agreed to refund Mrs Y’s care charges. It has also provided explanations and apologies, and created an action plan with the care provider.

London Borough of Hillingdon (23 010 329)

Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 27-Mar-2024

Summary: Miss Y complains about the Council’s actions in relation to a package of home care it commissioned in 2022. The Council upheld some parts of the complaint and Miss Y has received a remedy which we consider to be appropriate. We do not find fault in the other parts of Miss Y’s complaint for the reasons explained in this statement.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (22 015 748)

Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 25-Mar-2024

Summary: Mr X complained the Council withdrew his care package and did not reinstate it until a solicitor intervened. The Council was not at fault for withdrawing the care package but was at fault for delay and not being proactive to resolve the situation. It should apologise, make a payment to remedy the injustice to Mr X who had to arrange and pay for his own care, and ensure staff learn lessons from what happened.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (23 016 913)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Domiciliary care 19-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint, as brought by his representative Mr Y, about the care firm commissioned by the Council to provide domiciliary care to him in 2023 and how it responded to his complaints. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation. Even if there were fault, the matters complained of do not cause Mr X such significant personal injustice to justify us investigating. There is no worthwhile outcome an investigation would now achieve for Mr X. We do not investigate correspondence and complaint handling when not investigating the core matters giving rise to the complaint.

Essex County Council (23 009 545)

Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 19-Mar-2024

Summary: Mrs X complained about the actions of the care provider arranged by the Council after her father, Mr Y, fell at home. There was fault in how the care provider, acting on behalf of the Council, arranged for Mr Y to go into a care home, without seeking the Council’s approval first. This led to Mr Y being charged for care he would not have been. The Council agreed to apologise, reimburse some of the care fees Mr Y was charged and remind its providers about the correct procedure to follow in future.

Derbyshire County Council (23 020 417)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Domiciliary care 18-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about damage to her property. This is because we cannot determine liability for damages. It would be reasonable for Mrs X to make her claim to the Council, and then refer it to the small claims court if she remains dissatisfied.

Serenity Integrated Care Limited (23 015 109)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Domiciliary care 18-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about care she received in 2022. This is because the Care Provider has apologised and cancelled the charges. We are satisfied the injustice caused has been remedied by the Care Provider. There is no ongoing injustice to Mrs B warranting an ombudsman investigation.

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (23 008 242)

Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 15-Mar-2024

Summary: Ms B complained about the actions of a care agency (commissioned by the Council) during an incident in May 2023. She also complained about the care agency’s communications about what happened. We cannot say there was fault in the care agency’s actions on the day of the incident but there was fault in its communications later which caused distress to Ms B. The Council has agreed to apologise and pay a symbolic amount to Ms B.