Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care because there is not enough injustice to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms B says the Council failed to complete a care needs assessment for her relative, Mr C, and failed to support the family when they were in crisis. Ms B was distressed and needed medication.

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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 any fault has not caused significant enough injustice to the person who complained to justify our involvement.

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mr C was living in a care home which he arranged privately. A best interest assessor recommended the Council complete an assessment of his care needs. The Council says it completed a screening assessment and referred to its residential finding service to help Ms B with finding another care home as it notes Mr C was self-funding his care.
6. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance says local authorities must complete an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support, regardless of whether the local authority thinks the individual has eligible needs or of their financial situation.
7. An assessment can take many forms but must seek to find out the total extent of needs before the local authority considers the person’s eligibility for care and support and what types of care and support can help to meet those needs. It is unclear whether the Council’s screening assessment adequately captured Mr C’s needs.
8. Mr C was entitled to an assessment of his needs even though he was arranging his own care. By not completing an assessment the Council missed the opportunity to complete the checklist for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding for Mr C. The Council says the care home could have completed this.
9. We do not investigate all complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints.
10. It is unlikely any failure to complete an adequate assessment of Mr C’s care needs has led to a significant injustice. Mr C’s needs were met by living in a care home, and it seems likely this would have been the outcome of any assessment. Mr C could privately fund his care, and so also would likely have been the outcome of any assessment. There were other professionals involved in Mr C’s care who could have completed the NHS checklist for funding.
11. The NHS decided to fund Mr C’s care a few months later. If it did not backdate the funding that is something Ms B can appeal and ask it to consider. That is not within our powers, or the powers of the Council to decide.
12. I cannot say Ms B’s distress or the need for medication was solely caused by the Council’s actions. The changes in circumstances for Mr C was likely distressing, though the Council’s actions may have made it worse. But I do not consider this is significant enough to justify the Ombudsman’s resource.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because there is not enough injustice to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman