Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s handling of the placement of her father in a care home in 2017. We will not investigate the complaint because the events happened too long ago.

The complaint

1. On behalf of her deceased father, Mr Q, Ms X complains about the Council’s handling of his placement in a care home in 2017. She says it took too long to arrange the placement and that it was unsuitable. She says there should be a public apology and a compensation payment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. In considering the complaint I spoke to Ms X and reviewed the information she and the Council provided. I gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what she said.

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What I found

5. In 2017, following Ms X’s request for Mr Q to move to a care home to be closer to her and her family, the Council arranged a placement for Mr Q in a care home outside its area.
6. Ms X says the Council took too long to arrange the placement and that she did not want her father to go to the care home, believing somewhere else would have been more suitable.
7. In 2020 Ms X complained about this matter. The Council acknowledged there had been some delay due to the changing needs of Mr Q and the availability of a suitable care home but it did not uphold the complaint.
8. Dissatisfied with the Council’s finding on this issue, Ms X complained to us.

Assessment

9. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 of this statement applies to this complaint because the events Ms X complains about happened too long ago to be investigated and I see no grounds which warrant exercising discretion to do so now.
10. In responding to my draft decision Ms X said that in 2017 she had found trying to find a placement for her father very stressful and she had trusted the Council and relied on its officers’ professionalism. She said the placement did work for a period of time but when her father’s condition deteriorated it was too late to move him as this would have caused too much upset. However, Ms X knew about the issues of which she complains back in 2017 and could reasonably have been expected to have complained sooner. Moreover, as Mr Q has unfortunately passed away he cannot not benefit from the outcome of any investigation.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the matters complained about happened too long ago.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman