Summary: Mr X says the Council charged his late father for palliative care even though he was told the Council would not charge for the care. Mr X also says his father was charged for periods when he returned home from hospital and should have received charge free care under the reablement programme. No further action is needed as the issue is not one the Ombudsman can deal with.

The complaint

1. I refer to the complainant here as Mr X. Mr X says the Council charged his late father for palliative care even though he was told the Council would not charge for the care. Mr X also says his father was charged for periods when he returned home from hospital and should have received charge free care under the reablement programme.
2. Mr X wants the Council to meet with him so he can produce the correspondence showing it charged hum for palliative and reablement care.

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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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I examined the complaint and background information provided by Mr X. I obtained further background information from the Council. I discussed the complaint with Mr X by telephone.
7. I sent my initial thoughts on the complaint to Mr X and the Council. I considered the comments of both parties on the draft decision statement.

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What I found

8. The Council issued invoices for domiciliary and residential care services provided to Mr X’s father before he passed. The invoices covered the period between April 2017 to July 2019. The Council had issued invoices for the charges when they were due but it recently sent a comprehensive invoice setting out the charges and when the services were provided.
9. The information I received shows Mr X was aware of the charges by the Autumn of 2018. The Council had explained its charging policy to Mr X. In terms of full continuing health care (CHC), Mr X’s father was not eligible for the funding following an assessment in November 2018. Mr X had indicated to the Council’s officers at the time that he would challenge the decision.
10. Mr X approached the Ombudsman in August 2021 having complained to the Council in December 2020. But Mr X was clearly aware of the charges between 2017 and July 2019.
11. A complaint must be made to the Ombudsman within 12 months of a complainant’s awareness of the matter being complained about. Even if I take the starting point for an approach as December 2020, Mr X was aware of the charges for more than 12 months before he approached the Ombudsman. This complaint is therefore caught by the time restriction.
12. I have considered whether there are good reasons to accept this complaint for investigation out of time. But I do not find good reasons why Mr X could not have come to the Ombudsman sooner and within the material time.

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Final decision

13. I discontinued the investigation and closed this complaint because it is out of time and cannot now be considered by the Ombudsman.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman