Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a care agency failing to make calls in line with the care plan. This is because the complainant has already received a financial remedy and the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall refer to as Mr X, complains about care failings affecting his mother, Mrs Y. In summary Mr X complains that visits did not take place by carers and that his complaint was not answered properly.

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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 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 could add to any previous investigation by the Council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the information provided by the Council.

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What I found

4. Mr X complained about failures to provide Mrs Y with personal care as outlined in her care plan.
5. The Council asked the care provider to deal with this complaint. The care provider wrote to Mr X upholding his complaint. It found there was a failure to provide Mrs Y with any care from 1 August to 27 August 2019 due to administrative failings in the carers annual leave arrangements. This meant replacement carers were not assigned to Mrs Y. It found Mrs Y’s daughter was staying with her during this period however it admitted the care agency was at fault. It also accepted the failure to deal with the complaint properly.
6. To remedy the impact of the faults identified, the care provider sent Mr X with a ‘goodwill payment’ of £1500, refunded the charges to the Council and recommended service improvements.
7. My final decision is the Ombudsman will not investigate. The care provider has investigated the complaint and provided a remedy in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve to add anything more.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate as the complainant has already received a remedy and the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve anything more.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman