Buckinghamshire Council (23 019 953)
Category : Adult care services > Assessment and care plan
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 May 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to pay for Mr Y to live in a care home. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault with the Council’s actions to warrant an ombudsman investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council did not take into consideration his fathers-in-laws, Mr Y’s, mental and physical health needs when it refused to financially support him to live in a care home close to his family.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council assessed Mr Y. It said the outcome of his Care Needs Assessment determined he could manage in an Extra Care facility with a package of care. The Council considered Mr Y’s mental and physical needs and says it will refer him to his GP to monitor his physical and mental health. It also says Mr Y will benefit from accessing community social groups and will refer him to Prevention Matters.
- There is not enough evidence of fault with the way the Council has undertaken My Y’s assessment of need to warrant us investigating this complaint. If there is no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. We could not say Mr Y should be allowed to remain living in residential care as he wishes.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault with the actions taken by the Council to warrant an ombudsman investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman