Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the way she has been treated by council staff. This is because the Council has apologised for the failures and advised Mrs B of the changes to processes it has put in place. We could achieve no more even if we investigated.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complained about the way she was spoken to and treated by a member of the Council’s staff and concerns she has regarding information not being properly put onto the system. This resulted in her having to validate information, which would have helped the Council to understand the family’s situation it if had been properly recorded. Mrs B says Council staff acted unprofessionally and discriminatory towards her and caused her a great deal of distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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

3. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 4, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information and documentation Mrs B and the Council provided. I sent Mrs B a copy of my draft decision and considered her comments on it.

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What I found

5. Mrs B complained about the way she had been treated by council staff when its safeguarding team became involved following her father, Mr D, being seen in hospital. Mr D later confirmed he could not remember making an allegation and did not want to involve safeguarding.
6. The Council confirmed the threshold had been met for a safeguarding investigation but acknowledged its information gathering process could have been achieved in a different way.
7. The Council acknowledged how the call had affected Mrs B and substantiated her complaint. It said the staff member should not have used inappropriate words or terminology and should not have verbalised or attempted to diagnose Mrs B. It apologised to Mrs B as did the person involved and explained appropriate boundaries and learning will be taken forward with the individual in supervision.
8. Mrs B says the apology she received from the staff member attempted to justify the reasons for the way she was treated and is concerned others may have incurred a similar experience. We cannot investigate personnel matters or say what should happen to the individual, however in this case the Council has confirmed it has spoken to them, upheld Mrs B’s complaint and advised it will take the issues identified forward in supervision. It has also confirmed with Mrs B, she will have no further contact with the staff member. We are satisfied this remedies the injustice caused to Mrs B and could achieve no more from investigating further.
9. Mrs B complained she had to provide the same information a number of times, which if recorded properly the first time may have helped the Council to understand her family circumstances. The Council investigated inconsistencies with records and found it to be a whole service area issue. The investigation found safeguarding records sit in a separate part of the data system to other case notes so when staff could not locate the correct case note, considered it not recorded. It says this point will be taken up further with senior managers. We could achieve no more than this even if we investigated.
10. As an outcome to her complaint, Mrs B said she wanted support for Mr D to move home. The Council agreed to make an internal referral for a robust assessment of Mr D’s needs and discuss with Mrs B carers support in relation to the ongoing support she provides for him and her adult son. We could achieve no more than this even if we investigated.
11. Mrs B says the Council should have provided help and support with the coercion and control Mr D received from other family members prior to him moving in to live with her and then his own accommodation. I have not considered this point. As explained above when Mr D was discharged from hospital he said he could not remember making an allegation and did not want to involve safeguarding. If this is incorrect and Mr D now wants to complain about the lack of support he has received due to the Councils failure to properly safeguard him as Mrs B alleges, he can ask the Council to consider this point as a new complaint.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has apologised for the failures and advised Mrs B of the changes to processes it has put in place. We could achieve no more even if we investigated.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman