Leicestershire County Council (18 013 779)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mrs C complains about the respite care her mother received. The Ombudsman has ended his involvement as the Council agreed to write off the outstanding care fee of £144.51 during the investigation which Mrs C accepted.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs C, complains about the respite care her mother received and says the Council’s investigation into her concerns was inadequate. Mrs C says the appropriate equipment of a high-low hospital bed with crib sides and a crash mat was not provided despite making it clear this was required. Mrs C also says her mother was not fed properly during her stay.
- Mrs C says because of the Council’s fault, her mother had a fall needing a hospital attendance and was left hungry.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. 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 would find fault, or
- the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
- the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
- it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
- it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
- we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
- there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
- it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I read the papers provided by Mrs C and discussed the complaint with her.
- During my investigation the Council offered to write off the outstanding care fee of £144.51. This was the outcome sought by Mrs C. Although Mrs C would have preferred the Council to make this offer at an earlier stage in her complaint, she has accepted the offer as a reasonable way to resolve her complaint.
Final decision
- I have ended my investigation into Mrs C’s complaint as a remedy has been agreed during my investigation and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman