Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his mother’s missing personal belongings. This is because the care provider has already offered a suitable remedy.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains on behalf of his mother, Mrs Y. Mr X complains some of Mrs Y’s belongings have gone missing during her moves between care home placements and hospital admissions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about adult social care providers. 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 care provider, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 34B(8) and (9))

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information Mr X provided. I also considered the care provider’s response to our initial enquiries on this complaint. I sent Mr X a draft of my decision and discussed it with him on the telephone.

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What I found

7. Mrs Y moved to the care provider’s care home in late March 2020, following a hospital admission, after her previous care home placement said it could no longer meet her needs. In early May, Mrs Y left the care provider’s care home and was readmitted to hospital.
8. Mr X says some of Mrs Y’s belongings went missing during these moves. It is not clear at which point the items were lost as inventories of Mrs Y’s belongings were not provided at each stage. However, Mr X was able to provide a list of items he knew Mrs Y had during the first hospital admission prior to her admission to the care provider’s care home. This included toiletries; washing items; hairbrush; items of clothing and shoes.
9. The care provider told Mr X it did not have an inventory of the items Mrs Y arrived with. It said Mrs Y’s belongings were packed by CCG staff when she was admitted to hospital and it did not receive a list of the items that were packed.
10. In response to our initial enquiries to the care provider, it said it would offer a payment of £200 for the loss of any of Mrs Y’s belongings as well as an apology. This is with reference to the items Mr X referred to in his email correspondence with the care provider as summarised in paragraph 8, above.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the care provider’s offer represents a suitable remedy for the matter complained about. Mr X has indicated he is satisfied with the remedy the provider has offered.
12. If Mr X was dissatisfied with the provider’s proposed remedy, then it would be reasonable to expect him to use his right to pursue a claim for damages in the courts. Where there is an alternative remedy via the courts, we will not investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman