Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care. We have previously considered some issues and will not consider the same issues again. For the issues we would consider there is not a significant enough injustice to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms B says the Council failed to complete a Continuing Healthcare checklist in 2022 when her relative, Ms C, first moved into a nursing home. Ms B says the Council did not follow a proper process to assess needs, liaise with NHS services or create a care and support plan. When Funded Nursing care was awarded there was no justification for the dates. Ms B says the Council failed to properly respond to complaints. Ms B wants the Council to give a financial remedy and improve future service.

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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. Ms B says she only recently received information following a data request which has brought some of the concerns to her attention.
4. Some of Ms B’s concerns have been previously considered by the Ombudsman and we will not consider the same issues again.
5. 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 injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Ms B’s complaint the Council failed to complete a CHC checklist in 2022 or complete a proper assessment of Ms C’s needs was previously considered in case 23 008 189; I will not consider these same issues.
9. Ms B raises a new concern about failure to contact the NHS in 2022. But there is no evidence that caused any significant injustice. When the NHS did complete assessments for CHC it did not award that funding.
10. Ms B says the Council did not create a care and support plan. This would not cause a significant injustice, because the nursing home where Ms C lived would have created a care and support plan.
11. Ms B says the Council did not respond to her complaint of November 2022. Ms B knew of this issue more than 12 months ago and gives no good reason why she could not have raised it sooner. It is unclear whether this issue was considered under case 23 008 189 as that did cover concerns about complaint handling.
12. Ms B says in May 2023 the NHS decided to award Funded Nursing Care to Ms C. Ms B is unhappy with the date the NHS backdated to. This is an NHS decision and not within our powers to consider. There is also mention of this in decision 23 008 189 so it appears to have already been considered.
13. The Council refused to investigate Ms B’s recent complaint as says these concerns are late. It is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of a significant injustice to justify an investigation, nor any worthwhile outcome for us to now achieve. Some issues have been previously considered and we would not consider them again.
15. Ms C’s care and support needs were met in a nursing home. The care provider would have created a care and support plan and kept that under review. As the care was privately arranged any concerns about the standard of care would need to be raised with the care provider as a separate complaint.
16. Decisions about any NHS funded care is not within our powers to consider. I understand Ms B is challenging the NHS about its decisions which would be the appropriate action, and the NHS can decide whether to apply any retrospective backdated funding. Any fault by the Council within that process has not caused a significant injustice, because the outcome is the responsibility of the NHS.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman