Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care provision, because we could not add to the Council’s own investigation, and the claimed injustice is not serious enough to warrant our involvement and the use of public money.

The complaint

1. Mrs B says a care provider acting on behalf of the Council is rude and unprofessional and does not always meet her daughter’s care needs. Mrs B says care workers came during the Covid-19 pandemic with coughs, so she had to refuse entry.
2. Mrs B says the Council has not properly considered her concerns. Mrs B says the social worker said they will push and hit her daughter, so she worries it is unsafe when the social worker visits. Mrs B has asked for a change of social worker which the Council has refused. Mrs B says the social worker would not support a housing application.
3. Mrs B is distressed by the above issues.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We may investigate a complaint on behalf of someone who cannot authorise someone to act for them. The complaint may be made by someone we consider to be suitable. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(2), as amended). I have decided Mrs B is a suitable representative to raise a complaint for her daughter.
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, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.

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

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. There is unlikely to be evidence to show whether:
• care workers came to provide a service when they were unwell.
• care workers were rude and unprofessional.
• the social worker said they would push and hit Mrs B’s daughter.
9. The Council has completed a thorough investigation by speaking with the care provider, interviewing staff, and looking at the available care records. We would not be able to achieve anything further to add to what the Council has already said.
10. Mrs B’s concerns about whether the current care support is sufficient to meet her daughter’s care and support needs would be best considered by the Council conducting a review or reassessment. The Council says Mrs B has not agreed to this. A review or reassessment can be completed without an Ombudsman investigation; Mrs B can contact the Council to arrange this.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because the claimed injustice does not warrant our involvement, appropriate support can be considered by way of a Council review or reassessment, and we could not add to the Council’s own investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman