Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about quality of care and charges for care. There is not a good reason for the delay in the complaint being brought to the Council and then the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the care his mother, Ms Y, received in a nursing home. He said the Council moved Ms Y to the home despite it being under investigation, and said the home was downgraded after Ms Y died in late 2022. Mr X did not believe Ms Y received the quality of care she should have, and he did not believe the care charges reflected the care Ms Y received. Mr X also complained about the Council’s handling of his complaint, including poor communication and inconsistent responses. He said the matter has caused significant stress and paying the charges will deplete Ms Y’s estate. He wanted the Council to amend Ms Y’s charges retrospectively.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The law says complaints must normally be brought to us within 12 months of the complainant becoming aware of the matter. Where there are good reasons for delay, we have discretion to investigate late complaints. However, the 12 month timescale is in place because it becomes less likely we could come to sound conclusions the more time that passes between events and our involvement.
6. Ms Y died in late 2022. Mr X and his sibling made a formal complaint to the Council 14 months later, in late 2023. He says they discussed the matter with the Council in the period before then. He says the Council’s responses were regularly delayed and he and his sibling were also dealing with the sale of Ms Y’s house and a related equity release matter.
7. Mr X says the Council did not make him and his sibling aware it had a complaint process until November 2023. I have considered this; however, I am not satisfied this is a good reason for the delay. Complaints are a widely understood concept and Mr X and his sibling could have written to the Council to complain much sooner, in late 2022 or even beforehand, when they became aware of the matters.
8. I have considered Mr X’s assertion that the house sale delayed their ability to pay the invoice for Ms Y’s care. However, the relevant date for the beginning of the 12-month timescale is when they became aware of the cost of Ms Y’s care and issues with the quality of her care. This is a matter they could have complained about and escalated to us much sooner, before having sold the property. I understand Mr X and his sibling were busy with the matters they have mentioned, however I am not satisfied this prevented them making a formal complaint to the Council, and then us, sooner.
9. I have accounted for some delay by the Council in my consideration of the timescales. The adult social care complaints process should be one-stage, but the Council did not make this clear in its initial complaint response in December 2023 and offered Mr X and his sibling a further stage, adding three months to the timescales before the matter was brought to us. However, even taking this into account, there was a significant delay in Mr X bringing a complaint to us and there is not good reason for us to consider the matter now.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in the matter being brought to the Ombudsman.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman