Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the way the Council arranged nursing home placements for her parents. The Council has investigated Miss X’s concerns, upheld parts of her complaint, apologised and taken action to improve. We could not add to the Council’s response or provide a different outcome to those already achieved.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council failed to put her parents’ wellbeing first when it dealt with funding and their move to a nursing care home. Existing domiciliary care provision had been cancelled before nursing home placements had been confirmed, leaving Miss X’s parents at risk of not receiving appropriate care in the intervening period. Miss X says the Council’s poor communication and mishandling caused distress to her parents and their family. She believes the Council should financially compensate her and her sibling for the time and trouble they spent resolving the issue with the Council.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, 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))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. The Council responded to the elements of Miss X’s complaint summarised above. It accepted its record keeping in this case was not as robust as it should have been. It also explained the initial issues with arranging nursing home placements for Miss X’s parents were resolved in time to avoid any interruption in their care provision. Miss X’s parents were able to move to their nursing home placement on the original date planned by their family.
6. The Council apologised to Miss X for the distress and difficulties caused by the way in which some information about nursing home arrangements had been recorded. This had not impacted on Miss X’s parents’ ability to move as planned. The Council explained it had given feedback to staff involved and used its handling of this case in wider staff training to improve. The Council declined Miss X’s request for financial compensation in these circumstances.
7. The Council has completed a thorough investigation of Miss X’s complaints and provided a detailed response. We could not add to this nor make a different finding. It has taken action to learn from Miss X and her parents’ experience and apologised for any distress caused. There is insufficient evidence of any remaining significant injustice to justify us investigating this matter further.

Back to top

Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because further investigation could not provide different outcomes to those already achieved.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman