Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the treatment her husband received for alcohol addiction from the provider. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because it is not about actions that involve, or are connected to, the provision of adult social care.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains on behalf of her husband, Mr Y, about the treatment he received for alcohol addiction from the provider.

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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 can investigate the actions of adult social care providers. This is defined as a person who carried on an activity which:
• involves, or is connected with, the provision of adult social care, and
• is a regulated activity within the meaning of Part 1 of the 2008 Act. (Local Government Act 1974, Part 3A)
4. Adult social care is defined as personal care and other practical assistance. Personal care is defined as physical assistance given to a person in connection with:
• eating or drinking (including the maintenance of established parenteral nutrition,
• toileting (including in relation to the process of menstruation),
• washing or bathing,
• dressing,
• oral care, or
• the care of skin, hair and nails (with the exception of nail care provided by a chiropodist or podiatrist, or
• the prompting, together with supervision, of a person in relation to the performance of any of the activities listed above where that person is unable to make a decision for themselves.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Care Provider.
6. I considered information about the provider on its website and on CQC's website.
7. I considered the Ombudsman's Assessment Code.

My assessment

8. Mrs X complained to the provider about the treatment her husband received for alcohol addiction during his two week stay with the provider in 2021.
9. The provider, in response to our initial contact, said it had not responded to Mrs X's complaint as the manager who had been dealing with the matter left the company and it was overlooked. It provided us with its response and I have forwarded it to Mrs X.
10. This complaint lies outside our jurisdiction and we have no discretion to consider it. This is because it does not relate to the provision of adult social care. The services Mrs X's husband received were therapeutic services in relation to his alcohol addiction. They were not adult care services.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate Mrs X's complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction. This is because it is not made about, or connected to, the provision of adult social care.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman