Summary: Mr X complains Willows Lodge Care Home, where the Council had placed his mother, failed to allow him to see her as arranged on 8 June 2021, which prevented him from seeing her before she died. The Care Home wrongly denied it had made an arrangement, which caused avoidable distress. The Council needs to apologise and pay financial redress.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complains Willows Lodge Care Home, where the Council had placed his mother, failed to allow him to see her as arranged on 8 June 2021, which prevented him from seeing her before she died.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
4. This complaint involves events that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government introduced a range of new and frequently updated rules and guidance during this time. We can consider whether the council and care provider followed the relevant legislation, guidance and our published “Good Administrative Practice during the response to COVID-19”.
5. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mr X;
• discussed the complaint with Mr X;
• considered the comments and documents the Council has provided in response to my enquiries;
• considered the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies; and
• shared a draft of this statement with Mr X and the Council, and invited comments for me to consider before making my final decision.

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What I found

What happened

7. Mr X’s mother lived in Willows Lodge Care Home (the Care Home), where the Council had placed her. A sibling called in the evening of 7 June 2021 to say their mother had taken a turn for the worse, having had a fall, so he should arrange to visit her as soon as he could.
8. Mrs X called the Care Home at 08.20 on 8 June (their telephone records support this) to arrange a time to visit later that day. She said they would be booking a hotel to stay overnight, as they live some distance away. The person she spoke to said they should wait for confirmation. Mrs X called the Care Home again at 09.58 and spoke to the same person as before. They said Mr & Mrs X could visit between 15.00 and 16.00 that day, but to arrive 30 minutes earlier for a COVID‑19 lateral flow test. Mrs X booked a hotel and arranged to take two days leave.
9. Mr & Mrs X drove to the Care Home and arrived around 14.20. They noticed another sibling’s car was already at the Care Home. They told a member of staff they had an appointment who asked them to wait. When the Manager arrived, she told them they did not have an appointment. Mr X says she told them three times “You did not call this Care Home”. She told them they could return at 08.00 the next morning. At 14.34 Mrs X received a call from the Care Home on her mobile (her telephone records support this) cancelling the arrangement they had made. Mr X says this was from the person his wife had spoken to in the morning.
10. Mr X says he suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, which the Manager’s response induced. He says his wife had to get medication for him and he could not return to the Care Home, so did not see his mother before she died on 13 June.
11. Mr & Mrs X complained to the Care Home about the way they had been treated. They explained about the three calls with the Care Home and said the Manager had called them “liars” by denying they had called the Care Home. They said they had lost over £400 because of the Care Home’s failings (this included his wife’s loss of income from taking two days of unpaid leave). In his complaint to the Ombudsman, Mr X says they paid £161 for the hotel and petrol costs. His wife was subsequently allowed to take two days of annual leave.
12. When the Care Home replied on 8 July, it said:
• the Manager offered her apologies if they considered she had no compassion or understanding but said that was not how she intended to be viewed;
• it denied responsibility for any financial loss, as the Care Home had offered them an alternative appointment in line with COVID-19 visiting guidelines;
• it apologised for any distress which may have been caused; and
• they could complain to the Ombudsman if dissatisfied.
13. Mr & Mrs X wrote to the Care Home again on 15 July. They pointed out it had not addressed the claim that the Care Home agreed they could visit his mother from 15.00-16.00 on 8 June. They said the Care Home should not have agreed to this if another family member had already arranged to visit at that time. They said Mr X left shaking at the way they had been treated and felt unable to return the following day.
14. When the Care Home replied, it said it apologised for any distress caused and reminded them they could complain to the Ombudsman.

Is there evidence of fault by the Council which caused injustice?

15. The evidence supports Mr X’s claim that they arranged with the Care Home to visit his mother on 8 June. It appears the Care Home agreed another sibling could visit around the same time, which meant they could not visit because of COVID‑19 restrictions. Rather than admit to its mistake, apologise and make another arrangement, the Care Home claimed no arrangement had been made. The Care Home also failed to address this key issue when responding to the complaint. These were faults for which the Council is accountable (see paragraph 5 above). They caused avoidable distress for which a remedy is justified.

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Agreed action

16. When a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf it remains responsible for those services and for the actions of the organisation providing them. So, although I found fault with the actions of the care provider, I have made recommendations to the Council
17. I recommended the Council within four weeks writes to Mr X apologising for the distress caused and pays him £200. The Council has agreed to do this.

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Final decision

18. I have completed my investigation on the basis there has been fault causing injustice which requires a remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman