Summary: Mrs X complains about the care provided to the late Mrs Y. She says Mrs Y was distressed and the family lost all trust in care homes. The Ombudsman finds the Care Provider caused injustice to Mrs Y and Mrs X. The Care Provider offered a discount on future stays but the Ombudsman found it should apologise to Mrs X and reimburse 10% of the cost of Mrs Y’s two week stay.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complains about the care provided to her late mother, Mrs Y, at Hartford Court Care Home. She says Hartford Care Limited (the Care Provider) did not have the agreed room ready when Mrs Y arrived and there were various problems with the care.
2. Mrs Y says essential equipment was not in place, a visitor found Mrs Y distressed, she missed lunch and her call bell and walking frame were left out of reach.
3. The Care Provider apologised for some of the problems and offered 10% off Mrs Y’s next stay. Mrs X is not happy with this and says the 10% offer is no use because Mrs Y will not return. She says Mrs Y should have another remedy.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about adult social care providers. If there has been fault, we consider whether it has caused an injustice and, if it has, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 34H(3) and (4), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a care provider’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
6. We may investigate a complaint on behalf of someone who has died or who cannot authorise someone to act for them. The complaint may be made by:

• their personal representative (if they have one), or
• someone we consider to be suitable.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(2), as amended). In this case, we consider Mrs X a suitable person to bring this complaint on Mrs Y’s behalf.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information from the Complainant and from the Council.
8. I sent both parties a copy of my draft decision for comment and took account of the comments I received in response.

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What I found

What happened

9. Mrs Y went to Hartford Court Care Home in late June 2019 for two weeks’ respite. Mrs X says when she arrived, her room was not ready. The Care Provider said this was because it had mistakenly noted her departure date as her arrival date. It apologised and said it had reviewed its admissions process to ensure this did not happen again. This caused Mrs Y and Mrs X some stress, anxiety and inconvenience. We cannot put this right for Mrs Y because, sadly, she has since died.
10. Mrs X also says the essential equipment they had asked for was not available. The Care Provider said it had noted the equipment on the assessment but did not pass a request to its maintenance team, so it did not dealt with it. It also apologised for this and said it had included this issue in its review of the admissions process. This potentially caused Mrs Y an increased risk of harm although we cannot put that right for her now.
11. The Care Provider said Mrs Y not receiving her lunch and her call bell and frame not being in reach were “completely unacceptable”. It said it would be investigating this and “taking the necessary action”. However, although this suggests it accepted this happened, it did not apologise. These issues are likely to have caused Mrs Y some stress and anxiety. It offered Mrs Y a 10% discount on a future respite stay should she return. Mrs X felt this was an insult and said Mrs Y would not return. She said Mrs Y would remain cared for at home as a result because the family could no longer trust care homes. Mrs Y has now died and cannot return anyway so this remedy is not available to her.
12. A discount on a future stay is not usually a suitable remedy for injustice of this nature. In many other ways, the Care Provider dealt appropriately with Mrs X’s complaints. Mrs Y did not receive the service she paid for therefore I consider a refund would be more suitable than a future discount.

Agreed action

13. To remedy the injustice it caused, I recommended the Care Provider take the following action:
• Apologise to Mrs X for all the issues.
• Reimburse Mrs Y with 10% of her care costs for the two week stay.
• Provide evidence of these actions to the Ombudsman within one month of the final decision.
14. The Care Provider has agreed to do this.

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Final decision

15. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mrs X’s complaints that the Care Provider did not have the agreed room ready when Mrs Y arrived and there were various problems with the care.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman