Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about failure in adult social care support at home. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome he wants and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr B said the Council failed to support him when he was seriously ill. Mr B has lost trust in the Council and the Care Provider acting on its behalf. Mr B wants staff to lose their jobs and for there to be criminal action.

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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:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. When considering complaints, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the relevant available evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr B receives adult social care support from a Care Provider, which is arranged by the Council. The Council remains responsible for the actions of the Care Provider.
7. Mr B says he contacted the Care Provider for support when he was seriously unwell. The Care Provider said it would call back and did not do so.
8. The Care Provider says its records do not show Mr B mentioned being unwell, and the staff member does not recall Mr B saying this. In its complaint response it said if it had known Mr B had a severe fever or had become unconscious, it would have called the emergency services.
9. However, Mr B has provided evidence that he texted the Care Provider that day and said he had a severe fever, was sleeping all the time and could not get out of bed. Therefore, the Care Provider was aware of the state of his health.
10. Mr B also said when carers visited him that day, they did not properly support him. He says it was clear he was unwell and he informed them he had called an ambulance. However, he says they left instead of waiting with him whilst the ambulance arrived.
11. Mr B says during the night he was taken to hospital by ambulance.
12. We will not investigate this complaint. Mr B was able to call for an ambulance and so, even though there is some evidence of fault with the Care Provider’s actions, which Mr B will have found distressing, this is not enough to warrant a full investigation.
13. I also do not consider that there would be any worthwhile or meaningful outcome achievable now in making service improvement recommendations. In making this decision, I have considered the passage of time since these events occurred in early 2024.
14. We also cannot achieve the specific outcomes Mr B wants. He wants staff to lose their jobs; this is not an outcome the Ombudsman can achieve as we have no powers to get involved in personnel matters. Mr B also wants criminal action, which is also not an outcome the Ombudsman can achieve. If Mr B believes this is a criminal matter he should report it to the police. If Mr B wishes to take negligence action, that is a legal matter for which he should seek legal advice.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because we cannot achieve the outcome he wants and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman