Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about her uncle Mr Y’s care provision at a home commissioned by the Council, how the Council investigated her concerns, and delays in its complaint process. An investigation could not add to the Councils investigation nor lead to a different outcome. We cannot achieve the main personal remedy Mrs X seeks for Mr Y. We do not investigate complaints about councils’ complaint handling where we are not investigating the core matters giving rise to the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs X is Mr Y’s niece. Mr Y has dementia and other health conditions. He was a resident in The Grange Care Home, commissioned by the Council. Mrs X has received an invoice for Mr Y’s stay at the home for a four-week period in spring 2024. She complains:
1. during the invoiced period Mr Y did not receive adequate care;
2. the Council has failed to properly investigate her concerns;
3. delayed in speaking to her about and dealing with the complaint.
2. Mrs X says Mr Y is being asked to pay for poor care. She disagrees with the way the Council investigated the complaint. Mrs X says she has been caused frustration and upset from dealing with Council and feels she has not been heard or treated seriously. She wants the Council to waive the invoice sum of almost £1,300, investigate the complaint properly and improve its complaint process.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome; or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information from Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council issued a report into Mrs X’s complaints. The care issues she complained of were the care home losing Mr Y’s dentures and not looking for them in 2023, and an incident later in 2023 when a wardrobe at the home fell on Mr Y. The report also considered Mrs X’s complaints about communication issues: the care home not replying to one of her emails in May 2024, a social worker not replying to another May 2024 email, a social worker not dealing with the dentures issue at a ‘best interests’ meeting in May 2024, and how the care home staff described the wardrobe incident to attending paramedics.
6. We recognise Mrs X considers the Council officer’s report on her complaint was not conducted properly. But the officer spoke with the care home manager and social care officers involved in Mr Y’s provision, as well as with Mrs X. They also visited the care home and reviewed Mr Y’s care records. The Council’s officer gathered relevant information to make then set out their decisions on the care and communication issues. These are the actions we would expect from a council’s complaint investigation. No new information on the matters complained of would become available to us if we investigated now, to change the decisions the officer reached or resolve the inconclusive findings. We will not investigate because to do so will not add to the Council’s own investigation, and would not result in different outcomes.
7. We also note that none of the care issues Mrs X raises happened in the 2024 invoice period. There is no correlation between the care issues Mrs X has raised and the financial remedy she wants for Mr Y, for the 2024 invoice to be waived. Mr Y has been assessed as a contributor to his care fees. Even if we found fault in any of Mr Y’s care provision, we would not recommend waiving the charge in whole or in part as a remedy. We cannot achieve the personal outcome Mrs X wants for Mr Y. That we cannot achieve a key remedy sought here is a further reason why we will not investigate.
8. Mrs X complains about delays in the Council’s complaint-handling process. We do not investigate councils’ complaints processes in isolation where we are not investigating the core issues which gave rise to the complaint. It is not a good use of our resources to do so. That limitation applies here so we will not investigate this part of the complaint.
9. Mrs X also complained Mr Y did not receive a COVID-19 booster vaccine. But this is a healthcare matter, administered by the NHS. Any delay in Mr Y’s vaccines would be a matter for the NHS. If Mrs X wishes to pursue this part of the complaint, she may wish to raise it with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). It would be for the PHSO to determine whether to investigate this issue.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because:
• an investigation could not add to the Councils investigation; and
• an investigation would not lead to a different outcome; and
• we cannot achieve the key personal remedy Mrs X seeks for Mr Y; and
• we do not investigate complaints about councils’ complaint handling where we are not investigating the core matters giving rise to the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman