Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s actions regarding his late mother, Mrs C. This is because further investigation could not make a different finding to that already provided to Mr B by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr B complained about the care and support his late mother, Mrs C received from the Council and the impact this had on him and his late father, Mr C. Mr B complained about:

• Lack of consultation regarding the time and length of a meeting and general chaos throughout the meeting which resulted in breaches of data protection legislation.
• Failure to complete full Continuing Health Care (CHC) assessments.
• Lack of consultation regarding Mrs C’s FACE assessment which contained inaccurate information which had been cut and paste from previous assessments and did not include Mrs C’s emotional and behavioural needs.
• Lack of response to a safeguarding concern he raised about care staff failing to provide appropriate care to Mrs C, leaving before the allocated time and coercing Mr C. Mr B says he had to go to the Care Provider directly to request the carer be replaced.

2. Mr B says he felt bullied by the Council and spent a lot of time arguing with professionals trying to keep his parents safe rather than spending time with them. He wants the Council to take complaints seriously, ensure care homes keep people safe and adhere to the Care Act and GDPR legislation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council investigated Mr B’s complaints. It apologised he was not given sufficient notice about the meeting and explained the review was arranged at short notice because of the rapid changes in Mrs C’s needs. It acknowledged the meeting ran over time and may have been distressing. The Council partially upheld this element of Mr B’s complaint and further investigation by us could not add to this or make a different finding.
7. The Council explained Mrs C had several CHC assessments undertaken but there was no indication Mrs C required a full screening for a referral to the NHS for Continuing Health Care. We could not add to this or make a different finding.
8. The Council explained the FACE Assessment was sent to Mr B for feedback, and his comments were included in Mrs C’s Care Act assessment before it was finalised. There is no injustice to Mr B or Mrs C from the inaccurate assessment because Mr B had the opportunity to identify the inaccuracies and omissions and they were included and updated to Mrs C’s assessment.
9. The Council says it reiterated to the Care Provider the importance of care staff staying the full time. The carer was taken off the rota following an investigation, but there was no evidence Mrs C had been abused or neglected so the concerns were not progressed via the safeguarding pathway. Further investigation by us could not add to the Council’s responses or make a different finding.
10. The Council explained at the time of Mrs C left hospital it was appropriate for her to be discharged to a residential home for an assessment. The Council offered to reimburse Mrs C’s estate with £236.56.the short term charges she incurred for staying in the home longer than she intended.
11. The Council apologised Mr B felt bullied and assured him this was not intentional. We could not make a finding on how a person feels or how they perceive another person’s intentions. We could not now provide a remedy to Mrs C for any fault which might be uncovered during an investigation as she has passed away. Further investigation by us could not add to the Council’s responses or make a different finding.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because we could not make a different finding to that already provided to Mr B by the Council even if we investigated.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman