Summary: Mr X complained his relative’s jewellery went missing after she died at the care home. I have discontinued the investigation as there is no worthwhile outcome I could achieve by further investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained his relative, Mrs Y’s, jewellery went missing after she died at the care home. He says they should accept responsibility for the loss and offer a substantial sum to recognise this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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 further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the information provided by Mr X and have discussed the complaint with him on the telephone. I have considered some initial information provided by the care provider including its contract for Mrs Y’s care, an inventory of Mrs Y’s belongings and its response to Mr X’s complaint.
5. I gave Mr X and the care provider the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered the comments I received in reaching a final decision.

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What I found

6. Mrs Y moved to the care home in 2018. The contract between Mrs Y and the care home set out:
• ‘you are welcome to bring personal possessions and furnishings into the care home to personalise your room. …We shall give you a written inventory of your possessions and furnishings upon your admission to the Care Home, and we shall keep a copy for our records and shall update it as appropriate’.
• ‘We agree that we will provide a safe that can be used for valuables however it remains your responsibility to insure them appropriately as we cannot accept responsibility for any lost or damaged items. If possible valuables should not be brought into the Care Home’.
• ‘Whilst we have insurance covering all aspects of the provision of the service, this does not extend to your personal property. You may wish to make your own arrangements to insure all personal property which you bring into the Care Home’.
• ‘We shall not be held liable for any items of personal possessions or furnishings except in the case of negligence by us or our staff’.
7. Mr X visited Mrs Y regularly. He was last able to visit Mrs Y in March 2020. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic Mr X was not able to visit Mrs Y from March 2020 onwards. Mrs Y died at the care home in August 2020. At the time the undertaker advised Mr X that Mrs Y was not wearing any jewellery. Mr X believed Mrs Y had four rings and a necklace when she first moved into the care home.
8. Mr X says he rang and spoke to the care home manager who denied knowing Mrs Y had any jewellery. The manager passed the complaint to the area manager to investigate. The area manager spoke to Mr X and then wrote to him in early September 2020. The response set out the care home had completed an inventory in April 2018, when Mrs Y moved into the care home. This noted she had three rings but made no reference to a necklace.
9. The area manager said the care home had carried out a thorough search but could not find the rings. The area manager reviewed pictures of Mrs Y, including pictures taken in May 2020, which showed her wearing three rings. The pictures also showed Mrs Y would wear the rings on different hands and different fingers, sometimes wearing one and sometimes three. The manager noted the care home could not take responsibility for personal items unless the home was negligent and they did not find that was the case. Mrs Y had lost weight but that was not an automatic trigger for removing her rings. They noted there were a number of scenarios for what could have happened to the jewellery which was why the care home would not take responsibility for personal items.
10. As a gesture of goodwill, the area manager offered to pay Mr X £200 to acknowledge his disappointment that the rings were no longer available.
11. Mr X says he reported the loss to the police who would not take it further as they were unable to prove anything.

Findings

12. Mr X says the care home manager denied Mrs Y had any jewellery when he phoned the care home. I cannot know exactly what was said by the manager when they spoke to Mr X as I was not party to the conversation.
13. We would expect a care provider to complete an inventory when a resident enters a care home. The care provider has provided an inventory which showed Mrs Y had three rings at the care home. Mr X says she had an additional ring and necklace. However, these are not listed on the inventory or visible in the photographs of Mrs Y.
14. I cannot establish what has happened to Mrs Y’s jewellery and it is unlikely I could find out anything more if I were to investigate further. Allegations of theft are matters for the police.
15. Mr X believes the care provider is liable for the loss. Matters of liability are best decided by the courts. It is open to Mr X to make a claim in court if he believes the care home is liable for the loss of the jewellery.

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Final decision

16. I have discontinued my investigation as there is no worthwhile outcome I can achieve by further investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman