Summary: Mrs X complains that the care provider failed to properly investigate her complaint including an incident where her sister was attacked by another service user. The Ombudsman has discontinued his consideration of the complaint, as the Council has not had the opportunity to investigate and respond to the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains on behalf of her sister Miss Y. She says that the care provider failed to properly investigate her complaint, including an incident where Miss Y was attacked by another service user. She says because of this, Miss Y was removed from the house where she had lived for 14 years.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
3. We normally name care homes in our decision statements. However, we will not do so if we think someone could be identified from the name of the care home. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34H(8), as amended)
4. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information provided by Mrs X about her complaint and spoke to her on the telephone. I considered the Council’s response to the Ombudsman’s initial enquiries.
7. I provided Mrs X and the Council with a copy of my draft decision and invited their comments. I considered the comments I received.

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What I found

8. Mrs X complained about the actions of United Response in relation to an incident where her sister (Miss Y) was attacked by another service user. She says that the care provider failed to investigate the incident property and because of this, Miss Y was removed from her home for five weeks and was placed in an environment that was not suitable for her needs.
9. Mrs X complained to United Response and then to the Council. The Council told the Ombudsman that it had not considered the complaint. It said that Mrs X asked the Council to put the complaint on hold, as she had contacted the Ombudsman. Mrs X then contacted the Council on 5 September 2019 and asked it to consider her complaint. The Council confirmed that it was waiting for Mrs X to confirm her agreement with the terms of reference of the complaint.
10. The law says that, before investigating a complaint we must be satisfied that the Council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and respond. Usually we expect people to have exhausted the Council’s complaint procedure before we consider whether to investigate their complaint.
11. The Council has not investigated Mrs X’s complaint. I have therefore discontinued my investigation and referred this complaint back to the Council to investigate and respond under its complaints procedure.
12. Should Mrs X remain dissatisfied after the Council has dealt with her complaint, she can return to the Ombudsman for consideration of the substantive issues. She should do so within 12 months of the Council’s final response unless there is a good reason that prevents her from doing so.

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Final decision

13. For the reasons stated above, I have discontinued my investigation into Mrs X’s complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman