Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care provided at home. This is because we could not provide a remedy to the person significantly affected. Further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome; the Council is reviewing the Care Provider to improve service for others.

The complaint

1. Ms B says the council arranged Agincare UK Worthing (the Care Provider) to provide care for her parent (X) in their own home. Ms B says the Care Provider often left X in soiled bedding, did not meet the necessary personal care needs, missed medications, came at unscheduled times, gave no continuity of carers, and did not stay the allotted time. Ms B says X felt like an inconvenience, inadequate, uncomfortable, and embarrassed. The stress and worry took a toll on the family, and they often had to call the Care Provider to complain. The Care Provider did not respond to Ms B or to the Council when contacted about the complaint, so Ms B feels it has not been held accountable for its actions and the Council did not take the complaint seriously.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(2), as amended)

3. We have accepted Ms B as a suitable representative for X, who has died.
4. The Ombudsman cannot provide a remedy to someone who has died.
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 fault has not caused significant injustice to the person who complained which would justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(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. When the Council contracts adult social care to a Care Provider it remains responsible for meeting the person’s needs. Because the Council could not get information from the Care Provider it cannot say if X received an adequate quality of care.
9. The Council meets its duty to oversee the quality of providers’ care provision through quality monitoring reports and reviews. The Council has received no other concerns about the Care Provider. The Council said it will complete a review with the Care Provider about complaints it has directly received, how it has responded, and any learning to ensure it responds to complaints.
10. Ms B is understandably not satisfied, because the Council has not responded to the concerns she raised. However, it would not be a good use of the Ombudsman resource to investigate those concerns, because if we find fault and injustice, we can provide no remedy to X who was receiving the care and most directly impacted. Although there was stress and upset to Ms B and her other parent, I do not consider that is a sufficiently significant injustice to warrant an investigation.
11. The Council can address the concerns through its review process, to ensure others are not similarly affected.
12. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 set out the fundamental standards that registered care providers must achieve. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the statutory regulator of care services The CQC has guidance on how to meet the fundamental standards. It can also enforce against breaches of fundamental care standards and prosecute offences.
13. The Care Provider’s failure to respond to the complaint, and the concerns Ms B raises about its quality of care, may be breaches of the fundamental standards.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because it is unlikely that further investigation will lead to a different outcome. We cannot provide any remedy to the person who was using the service, and the Council and CQC can consider action to improve service for others.
15. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), we will share this decision with CQC.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman