Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about her treatment by the Council and its care provider. This is mainly because there is not enough evidence of fault. We will not investigate the care provided for Ms X’s relative because Ms X is not a suitable representative.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the standard of Council-arranged social care her relative is receiving. She also complains about her own treatment by her relative’s carers. Ms X says the Council has restricted her visits to her relative because she raised concerns about her relative’s care. Ms X says that she is upset and wants the Council to change her relative’s care provider.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We may investigate a complaint on behalf of someone 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by Ms X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X’s relative is receiving domiciliary care at home from the Council’s care provider.
7. We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about the standard of care being provided to her relative. This is because Ms X has no authority to make a complaint on her relative’s behalf. The Council does not consider Ms X to be acting for her relative. Based on this and on information I have seen in the Council’s mental capacity and best interests assessment, I do not consider that Ms X is a suitable representative for her relative.
8. Ms X has complained about how the Council and its care provider have treated her. The Council and its care provider responded to complaints about this. The Council’s care provider accepted that some staff had been at fault in the way they communicated with Ms X. The Council’s care provider apologised for this and put measures in place to prevent a repeat of these problems. I recognise that Ms X was unhappy with the Council care provider’s response to her complaint. However, I do not consider that any further investigation by us would lead to a significantly different outcome.
9. The Council received concerns about what was happening during Ms X’s visits to her relative. It now only allows Ms X supervised contact with her relative. The Council reached that decision after assessing the relative’s mental capacity; considering the information it had about Ms X, her relative and others involved; and assessing the relative’s best interests. I consider the Council reached its decision properly. So I cannot criticise that decision although Ms X disagrees with the decision. The Council says that Ms X agreed to having supervised contact. I recognise that Ms X is unhappy with having supervised contact. On balance, it is unlikely the Council’s decision would have been different even if Ms X had not agreed. Therefore, I do not consider the Council is at fault in deciding that Ms X should have supervised contact with her relative.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about her treatment by the Council and its care provider. We would be unlikely to achieve significantly more regarding the communication faults. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to restrict Ms X’s contact with her relative. We will not investigate those parts of the complaint that deal with Ms X’s relative because Ms X is not a suitable representative to act for her relative.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman