Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the behaviour of a staff member at a group she attended. She says the staff member was unprofessional and verbally abused her. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the behaviour of a staff member at a group she attended. She says the staff member was unprofessional and verbally abused her. She also complains the Council failed to provide adequate support to her as a service user and allowed her to be abused by staff members.

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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 impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X attended a group at a centre run by a care provider. This group is funded by the Council. Mrs X complained about the behaviour of the staff members who ran the group. In particular, Mrs X complained that one staff member had verbally abused her and failed to engage and encourage her during group work.
7. During its complaint investigation, the care provider acknowledged there was evidence that staff members were not professional in their communication with the group members. The care provider also acknowledged that the staff member had verbally abused Mrs X and that it had failed to deal with her complaint about the matter appropriately. The care provider also identified other fault with the running of the service. The care provider created an improvement plan which contained actions to improve the service for members.
8. In its complaint response, the Council also highlighted the areas which the care provider acknowledged there was poor service and practice. The Council made its own recommendations to the service and confirmed that its quality assurance team will provide audits of service delivery quality. The Council also explained it was looking at ways that service users’ voices can be engaged to ensure the service is user led and co-produced.
9. Having reviewed both the care provider’s and Council’s complaint responses, I am satisfied there has been a thorough investigation and consideration into the complaint points raised by Mrs X. Therefore, an investigation is not justified as it would not lead to any further findings.
10. Further, an investigation is not likely to find fault with the Council as there is insufficient evidence it had failed to support Mrs X or allowed her to be abused by staff members of the service. This is because the evidence shows the Council did take prompt action to address the concerns with the service provider once it was made aware of the incidents.
11. However, while key service improvements have been identified by both the care provider and the Council, no personal remedy has been provided to Mrs X. I am satisfied the faults accepted will have caused significant distress to Mrs X. I therefore invited the Council to recognise the distress caused to Mrs X by the faults identified by making a symbolic financial payment of £300.

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Agreed action

12. To its credit, the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within four weeks of the final decision.

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Final decision

13. We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman