Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to complete a continuing healthcare checklist. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council did not complete a continuing healthcare (CHC) checklist when her late mother was in hospital and needed to be discharged to a residential nursing home. Miss X says the Council’s officer agreed to complete a CHC checklist and the relevant department did not complete the officer’s recommendation before her mother passed away. She says her mother was receiving end of life medication and should have been fast-tracked for CHC.
   Miss X says the events caused her distress and meant her mother was charged for care totalling £476.49. Miss X wants the Council to apologise for the distress caused and refund the charges for care fees.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• 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, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal; or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant including the Council’s response to her complaint.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X’s mother went into hospital following a stroke. She was discharged from hospital to a nursing home in September 2025. Miss X’s mother spent about
   14 days in the nursing home before she passed away.
6. Miss X complained to the Council about what she was its failure to act a CHC checklist completed by its officer as part of the hospital discharge process.
7. CHC is a package of ongoing care that is arranged and funded by the NHS where a person has been assessed as having a ‘primary health need’. For most people who may be eligible for CHC, the first step in assessment is for a health or social care professional to complete a CHC Checklist.
8. The Council responded to Miss X’s complaint and said its officer did not complete the CHC checklist before Miss X’s mother was discharged from hospital because the National Framework (government guidance regarding CHC) said individuals should be screened for CHC in community settings.
9. The Council said when its officer spoke to the nursing home the home said the doctor had attended and had discussed end of life care for Miss X’s mother. The Council’s officer spoke with Miss X to confirm they were waiting on further advice from the doctor and it was not appropriate to complete the CHC checklist at the time.
10. The Council said it could not complete the CHC fast-track process because the fast-track process was led by health and needed to be completed by an appropriate clinician. It said the process fell under NHS responsibility. The Council said it could not waive the charges for care for the period Miss X’s mother was in the nursing home.
11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. The National Framework says screening for CHC should start at the right time when it is possible to make an accurate assessment of a person’s longer-term needs. This is in line with what the Council said.
12. The fast-track tool replaces the need for a CHC checklist when a person is approaching a rapidly deteriorating condition. The National Framework says the tool should be completed by an appropriate clinician such as a registered nurse or a registered medical practitioner. If Miss X wants to complain about the fast-track tool not being completed she can complain to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman