Summary: Ms X complained her son received a poor standard of care at his supported living provider and staff were untruthful with her on several occasions. The care provider has now addressed these issues with its staff. We will not investigate this complaint, as further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained her son received a poor standard of care at his supported living provider and staff were untruthful with her on several occasions.
2. Ms X said the care provider’s actions placed her son at risk of harm and caused her avoidable distress. Ms X wants the service to either improve or no longer be contracted to provide her son’s care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We may investigate complaints from the person affected by the complaint issues, or from someone else if they have given their consent. If the person affected cannot give their consent, we may investigate a complaint from a person we decide is a suitable representative. (section 26A or 34C, Local Government Act 1974)
4. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. Part 3 and Part 3A of the Local Government Act 1974 give us our powers to investigate adult social care complaints. Part 3 is for complaints where local councils provide services themselves, or where a council arranges or commissions care services from a provider, even if the council charges the person receiving the care. In these cases, we treat the provider’s actions as if they were council actions.
6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

9. Ms X’s adult son lives in supported accommodation. Ms X complained to the adult social care provider. Her complaints included but were not limited to:
• Staff failed to clean up their cigarette ends in the accommodation garden;
• Staff allowed her son to sit in the front seat of cars despite her concerns about the risk this would pose to him and the driver if he had a seizure;
• A member of staff had been untruthful on several occasions, including about contact with her son’s medical professionals.
10. The care provider responded in detail to Ms X’s complaints in August 2025. Regarding some complaints it did not find fault and explained its reasons. In some areas it identified shortcomings by its care staff. The provider said because of Ms X’s complaints, it had spoken with staff to prevent recurrence of the faults and it was investigating one member of staff under its disciplinary procedures.
11. The care provider said as its investigation could not substantiate whether this staff member contacted her son’s medical team when they said they had, it also arranged for the medical professionals involved to check her son’s care plan to ensure it was in line with his medical needs.
12. Ms X complained to the Ombudsman as she was not satisfied with the provider’s actions. Ms X also asked the Ombudsman to consider several new matters which were ongoing and had not concluded either the care provider or the Council’s complaints process.

My assessment

13. The key concerns Ms X raised have been addressed by the care provider through investigations and conversations with staff. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would therefore not lead to a different or more worthwhile outcome.
14. Ms X can complain to the Council and or care provider about any more recent concerns regarding her son’s care. The Ombudsman cannot consider these issues until they have completed the relevant complaints process.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different, or more worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman