Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about alleged misconduct by carers working with the complainant’s husband. This is because the complainant has not provided consent from her husband to act on his behalf. Additionally, if consent was provided, we would be unlikely to consider the complaint as there is insufficient injustice caused by the alleged fault to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs D, says that two carers for her husband behaved inappropriately in their interaction with him. She says the behaviour was inconsistent with the contract she has with the care provider.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We may investigate a complaint on behalf of someone who has died or who cannot authorise someone to act for them. The complaint may be made by:

• their personal representative (if they have one), or
• someone we consider to be suitable.

4. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(2), as amended)
5. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mrs D and I sent her an initial view.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate the complaint because Mrs D has not provided evidence of consent or authority to complaint on behalf of her husband. Additionally, the alleged injustice is insufficient to warrant investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman