Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint about the Council’s assessment of her mother’s, Mrs C’s care needs. This is because the Council’s actions have not caused Ms B or Mrs C a significant enough injustice to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms B complained the Council should have reassessed her mother, Mrs C before her money for paying the full cost of her care ran out and should have advised her to go into an Extra Care Housing facility sooner. Ms B says Mrs C paid over £46,000 for her care during the period she lived there and would have moved sooner if advised.

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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 effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. The complainant now has an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I will consider their comments before making a final decision.

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My assessment

6. The Council investigated Ms B’s complaints and said Mrs C needed to move into a care home when she was discharged from hospital in 2018. It said its records show a telephone conversation with Mr C in November 2018 confirmed he would fund Mrs C’s care privately and liaise directly with the care home. The Council says it carried out a review in December 2018 and Mrs C advised she was happy in the home but would think about where she wanted to live in the New Year. Mrs C said she was considering a move to sheltered accommodation.
7. The Council says as Mrs C’s care was being arranged and funded privately, and there was no request for support with making a move to sheltered accommodation, there was no further role for it and closed the case. It says it advised Ms B to contact it when Mrs C’s saving fell below the threshold for full self-funding.
8. The Council says it should have advised Ms B the case would close, or that it could remain open if she required support to review her care needs or support in arranging a move to alternative accommodation. The Council apologised this did not happen and advised Ms B it will reiterate to teams the importance of ensuring individuals and families are clearly informed about processes, policy and procedure. We are satisfied this remedies the fault.
9. Ms B contacted the Council in July 2019 advising Mrs C’s funding had fallen below the threshold for her to pay the full cost and said Mrs C no longer required 24-hour care. The Council reassessed Mrs C in September 2019 and determined Mrs C’s needs could be met in Extra Care Housing. It completed a financial assessment to establish how much Mrs C would need to pay for her care and support.
10. Ms B says if the Council had explained and reassessed Mrs C sooner she would not have stayed in the home that long and used up all of her saving. Although the Council has acknowledged it should have explained things clearer at the time, in December 2018 Mrs C said she was considering where she wanted to move to, including whether to move to Extra Care Housing, but said she would wait until the New Year before deciding.
11. Ms B or Mrs C could have contacted the Council and asked it to reassess Mrs C if Mrs C wanted to move to Extra Care Housing prior to July 2019. We could not say the Council should have checked whether Mrs C wanted to remain in the home which was privately arranged and funded. The Council apologised for the delay in considering Ms B’s complaint and offered her £150 for the time and trouble incurred in pursuing her complaint. We are satisfied this remedies the injustice caused by the delay.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council’s actions have not caused Ms B or Mrs C a significant enough injustice to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman