Summary: Mrs X complained the Care Provider missed a care call for her father in January 2020 and carers do not reliably log in when they visit. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the injustice caused is not significant enough to warrant our involvement, and it is unlikely we could add to the Care Provider’s investigation and the action it has already taken.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Care Provider missed a care call for her father, Mr Y, in January 2020, then covered this up and did not properly investigate the incident. She also complains carers do not log in despite this being added to Mr Y’s care plan. This has caused stress and frustration for Mrs X, and risk to Mr Y.

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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:

• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to previous investigation by the Care Provider, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Mrs X provided when she complained to us.
4. I considered information the Care Provider provided.
5. I considered Mrs X’s comments on my draft decision.

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What I found

6. In January 2020, a carer missed their night time call to Mr Y at home. The Care Provider contacted the carer who told them they had attended the visit, and this is what the Care Provider therefore communicated to Mrs X. However, the Care Provider later acknowledged the carer had not attended the care call and it apologised for this. Mr Y does not live on his own. No significant injustice was caused on this occasion, however Mrs X says Mr Y was alone for around 14 hours. Mrs X says she was disappointed and lost some confidence in the Care Provider. The apology was appropriate to address the injustice caused in this instance.
7. Mr Y has a log in system whereby carers use the household telephone to log in and out when they attend visits. Mrs X complained to the Care Provider in May 2020 that this system is not always used reliably. This caused her worry, as there was not always a family member at home with Mr Y and the family cannot check carers have visited if they have not logged in using this system.
8. The Care Provider investigated and agreed there were issues with carers logging in. It spoke to carers and followed disciplinary procedures. It apologised to Mrs X for the distress this was causing. The Care Provider and Mrs X say there has since been an improvement with carers logging in.
9. The Care Provider explained some of the issues with logging in have been related to Covid-19 and the carers’ wish to limit contact with telephones. It explained where carers had not logged in this way, they had provided their arrival and departure times to the Care Provider and they had written in Mr Y’s daily logs.
10. Understandably, Mrs X has been caused frustration, and while the Care Provider has taken action to improve this, the log in system is still not used entirely reliably by all carers. However, there have not been any further missed visits despite this issue, and there is no indication this issue has caused a significant injustice that would warrant our involvement. The apology, and the action the Care Provider is taking, appears to be appropriate at this time.
11. The Care Provider apologised where it found fault in its actions, and took Mrs X’s concerns seriously. If we investigated, I do not believe we would add value to the investigations the Care Provider has already carried out, and I do not believe we would make recommendations over and above the action the Care Provider has already taken. I am satisfied the Care Provider has monitored and taken action where needed to manage staff compliance, and it should continue to do so. Should there be any further missed calls, and a significant injustice caused due to this, Mrs X is welcome to make a new complaint.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because fault by the Care Provider has not caused a significant injustice, and it is unlikely we could add to the investigation the Care Provider has already done or the action it has already taken.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman