Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint about derogatory comments made by his late mother’s carers. This is because he could not add to the care provider’s response or make a finding of the kind Mr A wants.

The complaint

1. Mr A says his late mother’s, Mrs B’s care provider made derogatory comments in front of her and overheard by family members in the house at the time. Mr A says this was particularly upsetting for Mrs B and her family. Mr A says carers lacked compassion and were disrespectful.

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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 or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

3. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 4, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I discussed the concerns with Mr A and considered the information and documentation he and the Council provided. I sent Mr A a copy of my draft decision and considered his comments on it.

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What I found

5. Mr A raised concerns with the Council about offensive comments made by carers, overheard by Mrs B and family members, relating to the care given to Mrs B.
6. The care provider investigated Mr A’s concerns and interviewed both carers independently who denied making the comments alleged by Mr A.
7. The Council considered the concerns as a Safeguarding matter. It said it could not make a finding on whether the comments were made as they were refuted by the carers but agreed the carers would no longer carry out Mrs B’s care.
8. The Council says ‘Safeguarding was closed as no further proof could be gathered whether the incident took place and without independent evidence it would be difficult to corroborate either view’. 
9. Mr A says it is too late for the carers to apologise to Mrs B because sadly she has since died.
10. The Ombudsman would not be able to make a different finding to that already provided to Mr A even if he investigated and cannot provide Mr A with the outcome he wants.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because he could not add to the care provider’s response or make a finding of the kind Mr A wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman