Oakfield Quality Homecare Limited (21 011 548)
Category : Adult care services > Charging
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Jan 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the care provider’s charges. This is because the care provider was not carrying out a regulated activity in connection with providing adult social care. The complaint is therefore outside our jurisdiction with no discretion to investigate.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the care provider has overcharged for services it provided Mr X and his wife.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about adult social care providers and decide whether their actions have caused an injustice, or could have caused injustice, to the person making the complaint. I have used the term fault to describe such actions. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 34B and 34C
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- An adult social care provider within our jurisdiction is one which carries out regulated activities in connection with providing adult social care. The activities include personal care or other practical support provided in the place where the person lives.
- The law defines ‘personal care and other practical support’ as “physical assistance (or prompting and assistance) given to a person in connection with:
- eating or drinking (including giving parenteral nutrition),
- toileting (including in relation to menstruation),
- washing or bathing,
- dressing,
- oral care, or
- the care of skin, hair and nails (except for nail care provided by a chiropodist or podiatrist)”
(Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010)
- The care provider has responded to Mr X’s complaints and explained its charges. It has told Mr X it did not provide services which meet the definition of regulated activity as set out above.
- Because the care provider was not carrying out regulated activities in connection with providing adult social care, we cannot consider Mr X’s complaint. We have no jurisdiction to consider the matter complained about.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is outside our jurisdiction with no discretion to investigate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman