Summary: Mr X complains the Council has failed to meet his need for nighttime care. We have discontinued the investigation, as the Council has reassessed Mr X’s needs and is in the process of completing a new care and support plan, which will decide how his needs should be met. It is therefore too soon to say whether the Council has failed to meet Mr X’s needs for night-time support.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council has failed to meet his need for night-time care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mr X;
• discussed the complaint with Mr X;
• considered the comments and documents the Council has provided;
• considered the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies; and
• invited comments on a draft of this statement from Mr X and the Council, for me to consider before making my final decision.

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What I found

What happened

4. Mr X has disabilities which affect his mobility and mean he needs support with most daily living tasks, including continence. He has a hoist for transfers. Mr X complained to the Council that it had withdrawn his night-time care in May 2023.
5. When the Council replied to his complaint in July, it told him his care and support plan provided for 12 hours of support during the day. It noted he had been using his hours to provide overnight support, although his care and support plan did not identify the need to use the hours flexibly overnight. Mr X’s personal assistant (PA) told me he had been using £100 to pay for support during the day and £90 to pay for support overnight. The PA said this was not sustainable, as a sleeping night should cost £120.
6. The Council said it had referred Mr X for a full assessment of his needs, to make sure he had the right level of support. It noted there was a five month wait for an assessment and apologised if it had led him to understand it had started the process.
7. The Council reassessed Mr X’s needs in August. However, the officer who did the assessment left the Council before completing a care and support plan with him. The Council has assigned another officer to review the assessment and complete a care and support plan.

Are there grounds to continue the investigation into this complaint?

8. The Council did not withdraw Mr X’s nighttime support as it had only identified daytime needs. However, as he complained it was not meeting his need for night‑time support, the Council agreed to reassess his needs. Although the Council has completed an assessment, it has yet to produce an updated care and support plan. As that process is still ongoing, it is too soon to say whether the Council has failed to meet Mr X’s needs for night-time support. There are therefore insufficient grounds to continue the investigation into Mr X’s complaint. If he is unhappy with the outcome of the care and support plan, it will be open to him to make a further complaint to the Council, if he believes it has been at fault.

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Final decision

9. I have discontinued my investigation on the basis it is too soon to say whether the Council has failed to meet Mr X’s needs for night-time support.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman