Summary: Ms B complains about the lack of assistance she has received from the Council’s Adult Social Care Service. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because the Council is taking appropriate action to assist Ms B and an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms B, says the Council’s Adult Social Care Service has not provided her with sufficient support. She says she wants different carers to help her and that her situation is making her ill.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Ms B and the Council. I gave Ms B the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

4. Ms B is an elderly lady who is supported by a social worker and has received care from agency carers.
5. Ms B says she stopped this care provision because of a disagreement with the carers about what they would do for her. The care agency told the Council it had stopped providing care as Ms B had not paid her bills.
6. Ms B contacted the Ombudsman with a complaint about the lack of support she was receiving which we passed on to the Council to respond to.
7. The service commissioned by the Council to deliver its Adult Social Care provision then wrote to Ms B and addressed the concerns she had raised. It put in place a package of care which involves twice daily visits and has arranged for further assessments to be carried out to ensure the current level of support for Ms B is maintained.

Assessment

8. Ms B raised concerns about the lack of support she was receiving following the breakdown in the relationship with the original care agency she used. However, the service acting on behalf of the Council is working with Ms B to ensure she receives a suitable care package and further assessments are being undertaken to facilitate this.
9. Given this action, and that an investigation by the Ombudsman will be unlikely to lead to a different outcome, we will not consider the complaint further.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council is taking appropriate action to assist Ms B and an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman