Summary: I have discontinued my investigation into Mr X’s complaint about how the Council investigated and responded to his complaint about a Council occupational therapist. It is unlikely further investigation by us would add anything to the Council’s complaint response. Mr X also complained the Council failed to review its response to a complaint he made about his care assessment in 2018. That complaint is out of time.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about how the Council investigated and responded to his concerns about a Council occupational therapist in 2019. He said he then asked the Council to review its complaint response, but it failed to do that.
2. Mr X also complained the Council failed to review its response to a complaint he made about his care assessment in 2018.
3. Mr X said the Council’s responses to his complaints had made matters worse and had affected his mental health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 could add to any previous investigation by the Council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I read Mr X’s complaint and considered the Council’s response to it.
7. Mr X and the Council both had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before I make a final decision.

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What I found

8. Councils must assess anybody in their area who appears in need of care services. Following an assessment, the Council must decide which needs are eligible for support. If the Council provides support, it must produce a written care plan.

What happened

9. Mr X is a disabled adult. In March 2018 he complained to the Council about an occupational therapist assessment. In May 2018 the Council completed his care needs assessment. Mr X did not agree with the Council’s assessment and he complained in June 2018. He said he asked the Council to review its complaint response in July 2018.
10. In December 2018 an occupational therapist from the Council met with Mr X after he asked for a specialist riser recliner chair. The occupational therapist visited Mr X three times. As part of their involvement with Mr X they ordered him the riser recliner chair and referred him to physiotherapy and wheelchair services.
11. In February 2019, Mr X complained to the Council about the occupational therapist. He made several complaints including that they:
1. failed to refer him to the physiotherapy service;
2. stole a doctor’s letter from his home; and
3. wrote inaccurate information about him.
12. In March 2019 the Council responded to Mr X’s complaint. It partially upheld it as it accepted the occupational therapist had incorrectly recorded one of his medical conditions. It also accepted that there had been some misunderstandings between the occupational therapist and Mr X. That included the occupational therapist taking the doctor’s letter from Mr X, as they thought it was for filing in his case records. The Council returned the letter to Mr X after he asked for it back.
13. The Council said it had identified training needs within the team. It said that would include staff accuracy when recording medical conditions; interpreting client’s views and recording as part of its ongoing training plan.
14. Mr X said he asked the Council to review that decision in April 2019. The Council told me it had not received a request to review his complaint.
15. Mr X was unhappy with the Council’s response and in October 2019, complained to the Ombudsman.

My findings

16. I have not investigated Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to reconsider its response to his complaint in July 2018 as that complaint is out of time. We would have expected Mr X to complain to us within twelve months of that date if he was unhappy the Council’s response.
17. I intend to discontinue my investigation about how the Council investigated and responded to Mr X’s complaint about the occupational therapist. The Council’s response identifies faults within its service and makes recommendations for improving practice. It is unlikely an Ombudsman investigation would add anything further.
18. The Council states it has no record of Mr X’s request to review his complaint in March 2019. However, even if the Council had failed to review it, that would not have caused Mr X a significant injustice as it had already upheld his complaint and made service improvements.

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Final decision

19. I have discontinued my investigation into Mr X’s complaint about how the Council responded to his complaint about its occupational therapy service. It is unlikely an Ombudsman investigation would add anything to the Council’s findings. I have not investigated the Council’s failure to reconsider a previous complaint response as it is out of time.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman