Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to pay for him to live in a care home. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault with he actions taken by the Council to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr B complained to the Council because it refused his request to place him in a residential care home. Mr B says he is unsteady on his feet and wants to live in a care home.

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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. I considered the information and documentation Mr B’s representative and the Council provided. I sent Mr B’s representatives a copy of my draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mr B contacted the Council in 2017 and was given advice and guidance. In 2018 the Council completed a full care needs assessment as required under the Care Act 2014 and provided Mr B with information about community support groups. It says it spoke to Mr B about moving to alternative accommodation and discussed with him about having a lifeline for support. Mr B said he wanted to move into residential care but the Council explained his needs could be met in his own home without Adult Social Care support.
5. The Council visited Mr B in February 2019 at the request of his local counsellor and updated his assessment. It explained Mr B’s needs could be met through alternative support groups and he did not have any eligible care needs requiring Adult Social Care support. Mr B said he wanted to live in a residential care home setting and if he could not he would remain in his own home without support.
6. Mr B was visited again in November 2019 and advised the same. He was invited to view an extra care facility. He initially accepted this but later declined the offer.
7. The Council says it received a letter from Mr B’s representative in June 2020 and completed a further re-assessment of Mr B. It explained although his eligible needs had not changed, Mr B advised he was sometimes unsteady on his feet when undertaking daily living tasks. He was provided with advice and information and a referral was made for occupational therapy. However, when the Occupational Therapist contacted Mr B he said he did not want any further assessments to take place.
8. The Council has confirmed Mr B’s assessed needs do not meet the eligibility criteria for residential care and explained Adult Social Care’s aim is to support people to meet outcomes and remain independent in their own home for as long as possible.
9. Mr B’s representative says Mr B has several health conditions, is weak and dizzy and is dehydrated. However, Mr B is not assessed as needing 24-hour care in a residential setting which is what he wants. We could not say this is fault because the Council has advised Mr B of the resources available to him in the community, he has refused an assessment by the Occupational Therapist and refused to consider alternative accommodation, which may suit his needs. In addition Mr B has not been identified as having any eligible care needs.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault with the Council’s actions to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman