Summary: Mr A complains about the way staff from the Council and the Integrated Care Board behaved at a meeting. We will not investigate Mr A’s complaint because it is unlikely we can achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Mr A complains about the City of Doncaster Council (the Council) and NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (the ICB). He complains about the conduct of staff from both organisations at a multi-disciplinary meeting which was held in November 2025 to discuss NHS Continuing Healthcare funding for his mother. He complains staff were dismissive, the atmosphere was intimidating and their body language and tone was negative.
2. Mr A also complains about how his complaint was handled by both organisations, he feels it was not dealt with in a fair, balanced or proportionate way.
3. Mr A says the meeting caused significant distress when trying to manage decisions about his mother’s care. The handling of his complaint has left the family feeling dismissed and that professionals’ voice always carries greater weight. This has caused ongoing stress, frustration, and anxiety as he had to make a complaint alongside more important safeguarding responsibilities.

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The Ombudsmen’s role and powers

4. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and Health Service Ombudsman have the power to jointly consider complaints about health and social care. (Local Government Act 1974, section 33ZA, as amended, and Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 18ZA).
5. Part 3 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. It also applies 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. (Part 3 Local Government Act 1974; section 25(6) & (7) of the Act)
6. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended, and Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 9(4))
7. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the bodies. (Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 3(2) and Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered evidence provided by Mr A as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.

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What I found

Behaviour of staff

9. Mr A complains about the conduct of staff from the Council and the ICB at a meeting which was held in November 2025 to discuss his mother’s eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding.
10. During this meeting, Mr A says staff were dismissive when he raised concerns, the atmosphere was intimidating throughout, and the body language and tone of the staff present was negative.
11. The Council and the ICB have both said the meeting was not recorded, so there is no further evidence for the Ombudsmen to consider. I have considered Mr A’s account of events, as well as the complaint responses from the organisations which include accounts from staff who were present.
12. It is evident Mr A was upset after the meeting, however tone and body language are subjective. It is not possible for us to determine if staff from the Council or ICB were acting in a negative way towards Mr A and his family on the basis of Mr A’s account and from the written notes.
13. In the absence of further evidence, there is nothing further we can add.

Complaint handling

14. Mr A complained to both the Council and ICB, who both investigated the complaint under their own complaint procedures. Mr A has also complained to the Ombudsmen about how his complaint was handled by both organisations, he feels it was not dealt with in a fair, balanced or proportionate way.
15. Councils should consider complaints in line with the LGSCO’s Complaint Handling Code, and ICB’s should consider complaints in line with the NHS Complaints Standards.
16. I have reviewed the complaint responses from both organisation alongside the guidance. Both organisations have spoken with their staff about what happened and apologised for Mr A’s overall experience. Both have been honest and open about the fact the meeting wasn’t recorded so they can only speak to the staff who were present. The ICB also said it would use Mr A’s experience to improve its service and had taken learning from the complaint.
17. The way the organisations have considered Mr A’s complaint is proportionate, in line with guidance and what we would expect. I cannot see any indication of fault, which would lead to us investigating further.

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Decision

18. We will not investigate this complaint because it is unlikely we could add anything further.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman