Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about lack of care provided to Mr B prior to his death in October 2021. This is because further investigation could not add to the Council’s response or make a different finding of the kind his daughter, Ms C wants. There is no good reason for us to disapply the law to investigate this late complaint now.

The complaint

1. Ms C complained about the Council’s failure to provide suitable accommodation, care and support to her late father, Mr B, between March and October 2021. Ms C says she discovered Mr B unkempt and in extreme filthy living conditions. Ms C called an ambulance and Mr B was taken to hospital where he died a few days later. Ms C says the hospital doctor said Mr B died of neglect. Mr B’s death certificate confirmed he died of sepsis, pneumonia, pressure sore and cirrhosis of the liver. Ms C says paperwork has been altered wants the Council to accept responsibility for it failure to provide Mr B with care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council says it did not provide a package of care for Mr B when he moved into an Extra Care Facility in August 2021. It says Mr B was fiercely independent and had capacity to decide whether to accept care or not.
7. Whilst we recognise the upset and distress Ms C has suffered we could not say Mr B lacked capacity in 2021 to make decisions about his care or say his neglect was because of the Council’s actions. Even if we exercised discretion to investigate this late complaint, we could not now provide Mr B with a remedy for any injustice caused to him by fault which might be uncovered during an investigation.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms C’s complaint because there is no good reason to investigate this late complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman