Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a nursing assessment completed for his son. He says the assessment was not completed appropriately and the nurse provided unhelpful information. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault. In addition, the alleged fault did not cause any significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about a nursing assessment completed for his son. He says the assessment was not completed appropriately and the nurse provided unhelpful information.

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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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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. Mr X’s son, Mr Z, was referred to the Community Learning Disability Team for support around sleep hygiene following Mr X raising concerns about the impact of his son’s poor sleep hygiene.
7. A nurse visited Mr X and his son in November 2024 to complete an assessment. Mr X was unhappy with this assessment and with the nurse providing a printout from a US focused commercial website. He also felt the nurse failed to provide any useful information to support his son.
8. The assessment record noted Mr Z was sleeping during the day and staying up at night to play games on his console and gadgets. The assessment concluded that sleep hygiene was not possible and that focus should instead be on promoting engagement in daytime activities. The nurse noted Mr Z could be re-referred to the service for a further assessment once this was done. This was also discussed and agreed with Mr Z’s social worker.
9. I note Mr X is unhappy with the outcome of the assessment and feels the nurse failed to complete the assessment appropriately. However, the nurse involved Mr X in the assessment to gather relevant information about Mr Z’s circumstances. I note the nurse only spoke with Mr Z briefly as part of the assessment, but it is for them to exercise their professional judgment to decide if they had sufficient information to complete their assessment. Therefore, an investigation is not justified as we are not likely to find fault.
10. Mr X also complained about the nurse providing him with an information sheet which he says was from a US focused commercial website. He is unhappy about this and felt the nurse should only be providing NHS approved information leaflets.
11. I acknowledge Mr X was likely caused some frustration at being given information he considered unhelpful, but this is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault. In addition, the alleged fault did not cause any significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman