Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a stairlift. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council, it is a late complaint and because the Council is working with the complainant to try and find a solution.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, says the Council installed a stairlift which only goes to the landing. She has to climb four stairs to get to the bedroom. Mrs X wants the Council to install a stairlift to the top floor.

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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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council.

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

3. 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

4. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I obtained some additional information from the Council. I invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

5. Mrs X lives in a house. The bathroom is on the landing and there are four stairs leading to her bedroom on the top floor.
6. The Council installed a stairlift in 2018. I have seen an email which says the Council had obtained a quote for a stairlift to the top floor. The email says Mrs X was unsure about this and wanted the stairlift to stop at the landing so she could walk the last few steps and maintain some independence.
7. The Council could not find a company that could install a stairlift to the top floor. The Council completed the stairlift installation, to the landing, in October 2018. The Council also installed bilateral hand rails for the four stairs.
8. In late 2019 Mrs X fell on the four stairs. She is finding it increasingly hard to manage the stairs to her bedroom. She complained to the Council that it had not provided a stairlift to the top floor. In reply, the Council explained that before installation, officers had explained to Mrs X that it had not been possible to find a company that could install a lift to the top floor. It had had further discussions with companies but, for practical and technical reasons, no company could offer what Mrs X wanted. The Council said Mrs X was aware of this before agreeing to the installation of a lift to the landing. The Council suggested Mrs X could relocate her bedroom to one of the ground floor rooms and use the stairlift to get to the bathroom.
9. The Council told me it is still working with Mrs X to try to find a solution. A different company has recently visited and the Council is waiting to receive information from that company to see if they can offer a solution which would meet Mrs X’s needs.

Assessment

10. I will not start an investigation for the following reasons.
11. There is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council told Mrs X, before installing the lift, that it was not possible to include the last four stairs. Instead it fitted handrails. Mrs X could have declined the stairlift, in 2018, if she did not think it would meet her needs. In addition, the Council has explained why it has not been possible to fit a lift to the top floor but it is still working to try a find a solution. It also suggested Mrs X could move her bedroom downstairs.
12. I also will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint. The Council fitted the stairlift, to the landing, in October 2018 but Mrs X did not complain to the Ombudsman until August 2020. I have not seen any good reason for Mrs X to wait nearly two years before complaining that the stairlift does not reach the top floor.

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Final decision

13. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because the Council is trying to find a solution. In addition, this is a late complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman