Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council provided adult social care support to his mother. The Council has already apologised and taken action to improve its service.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Care Provider the Council commissioned to support his mother, Mrs Y. He said:
1. The carers did not provide the necessary personal care for Mrs Y, did not dress her appropriately and either missed, or were late for visits.
2. A carer was racially abusive towards him and sent him threatening text messages.
3. A carer fed his mother uncooked food.
2. Mr X said he had reported over a hundred incidents to the Council. He wants it to take a zero-tolerance approach to his complaint about racial abuse.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
4. 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, or

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
7. The complainant had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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My assessment

The Care Provider failed to provide the necessary personal care for Mrs Y

8. In the Council’s complaint response, it said the Care Provider had spoken to the carers who visited Mrs Y. They had confirmed they provided personal care to Mrs Y on each visit. They also confirmed they gave Mrs Y food. The Council said a carer had incorrectly completed personal care for Mrs Y in the living room. It apologised for this. It said it would introduce a communication book in Mrs Y’s home to record all visits and ensure information about Mrs Y’s care needs were clear in her plan. The Council said the Care Provider asked Mr X to report any concerns and that it would carry out spot checks to ensure her care needs were being met.
9. The Council arranged meetings with Mr X and the Care Provider. The Care Provider investigated Mr X’s complaint about missed visits. It said it had missed three visits because of a system error.
10. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has apologised where it found the care was below standard. The Care Provider took steps to address Mr X’s concerns by introducing the communication book; spot checks and reviewing the care plan. The Council introduced meetings to review progress. The meeting minutes show Mr X was happy Mrs Y’s care had improved. Therefore, I am satisfied with the steps the Council took to resolve this complaint. There is no significant injustice outstanding and further action by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.

A carer was racially abusive to Mr X

11. In response to this complaint, the Council confirmed the Care Provider had investigated and that it had taken action against the staff member. They were removed from working with Mrs Y. As Mr X remained unhappy about how the Care Provider had dealt with the carer, the Care Provider agreed to complete a further investigation into the incident.
12. Mr X remained dissatisfied. The Council wrote to him and said it would not consider the complaint further. It said it could not direct the Care Provider to dismiss the staff member. As Mr X made further complaints about Mrs Y’s care the Council changed the Care Provider.
13. We will not investigate this complaint. The Care Provider has taken appropriate action against the carer following Mr X’s complaint they were racially abusive. Both the Council and Care Provider apologised to Mr X. The Ombudsman cannot direct the Care Provider to dismiss a staff member. Therefore, further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome, nor could it achieve the outcome Mr X wants.

A carer fed Mrs Y uncooked food

14. In the Care Providers investigation, it said the carer had cooked the food in accordance with Mr X’s instructions. However, it said the food was not cooked as per the cooking instructions. It removed the carer from working with Mrs Y and reminded staff to follow cooking instructions on packets of food. Mr X disagrees with the Care Provider’s findings. He states the carers version of events is untrue.
15. We will not investigate this complaint. As I was not there, I cannot establish the facts of what happened. Therefore, there is nothing worthwhile to be achieved by investigating as we could not add to the Care Providers investigation.

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Draft decision

16. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because I am satisfied with the steps the Council has already taken to resolve the complaint and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman