Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the delays in arranging for the complainant to return home following their discharge from hospital or matters about their stay at a care home. These complaints are late and there is no good reason to consider them now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to ensure Mrs Y could return home following her discharge to a care home. Further he says the Council provided poor communication and failed to tell them of the financial costs involved.
2. He says this left Mrs Y in a care home, where she was not receiving satisfactory care, for 20 months and resulted in her receiving an unexpected care bill for a substantial amount of money.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X complains about events that happened between summer 2022 and spring 2024. We will not investigate his complaints as they are late, and paragraph four of this decision statement applies. Mr X would have been aware of the issues at the time, and certainly, by the spring of 2024. Therefore, he could have complained sooner and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider this late complaint.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman