Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a dispute regarding the care the complainant’s father received and the Council seeking payment of an outstanding balance. That is because the complaint is late and there are not enough good reasons for us to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr B, complained about the lack of care his father received in a care home and the outstanding balance the Council has sought.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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 or care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr B has sent us a copy of the Care Quality Commission’s finding that the care home where his father, Mr C, had lived was inadequate. Mr B told us the care home closed in 2019. Mr C then moved to another care home. Mr B said Mr C has recently passed away.
7. Mr B told us the dispute with the Council has been going on for several years. He does not think his father should have had to pay the full amount sought by the Council because of the lack of care he had received. Mr B made a complaint to the Council on his father’s behalf in 2019.
8. It is more than twelve months since Mr B first became aware of the issues with his father’s care. His father moved to another care home during 2019. While Mr B has sent us details of the Care Quality Commission’s findings, given the passage of time and the closure of the home, we would not now be able to obtain sufficient sound evidence about Mr C’s individual case. Mr B has had cause for complaint for more than twelve months and so could have pursued his complaint sooner. So there are not enough good reasons for us to pursue it now.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is late and there are not enough good reasons for us to investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman