Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s communication with Mrs X and her father’s lack of progress in a rehabilitation placement. The Council has already apologised to Mrs X for issues with its communication and we would be unlikely to achieve anything further. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s assessment of Mr X and the service he has received in his placement, to warrant investigation by the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s involvement in her father’s (Mr Y’s) care. Her complaints included the Council:
• failed to provide the care Mr Y requires;
• communicated poorly and failed to keep Mrs X up to date;
• cancelled appointments;
• acted in an unprofessional manner; and
• mishandled her complaint.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused her significant frustration and distress, and there had been significant deterioration in Mr Y’s abilities. Mrs X wanted an independent investigation and explanations.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Issues with communication

7. Mrs X’s complaint to us largely relates to issues she experienced in the Council’s communication with her. The Council accepted, via its internal complaints process, communication with Mrs X had not been to the required standard. It acknowledged Mrs X’s expectations were raised when she was promised a call would be returned, when this was subsequently not possible. It also acknowledged a meeting had been cancelled at short notice, and recognised the disruption this would have caused.
8. The Council apologised to Mrs X and listed service improvements it intended to make following her complaint. If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we could not achieve anything different. The Council has provided a remedy already for the frustration Mrs X experienced.

Issues relating to Mr Y’s care and support

9. Mrs X’s complaint also relates to the standard of care received by her father, and her concern the Council may not have ensured his needs are appropriately met. She says her father has not made progress despite residing in a rehabilitation placement.
10. Mr Y’s care assessment and support plan shows his needs have increased since he has stayed in the rehabilitation accommodation. The Council noted Mr Y stopped taking his medication, which was a decision he had capacity to make. The Council noted rehabilitation staff had struggled to provide support to Mr Y that would increase his independence, because he had declined to work alongside staff and instead required tasks to be carried out on his behalf. The Council has begun the process of looking for alternative accommodation that would better meet Mr Y’s needs, given his lack of potential for rehabilitation.
11. There is no substantive evidence the decline in Mr Y’s abilities has been caused by any fault by the Council or the staff at Mr Y’s accommodation. Mrs X’s suspicion Mr Y’s needs may not have been met is based on her experiences when communicating with the Council, rather than a specific complaint about the support he has received. There is insufficient evidence of any fault by the Council or the rehabilitation accommodation and it is not therefore proportionate for us to investigate the matter further.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the Council has already provided a suitable remedy for issues with communication, and there is insufficient evidence of fault in how it assessed Mr Y and the support he has received.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman