Summary: Mr X complains that the Council failed in its duty of care to keep his father, Mr F, safe in a care home. Mr F was attacked in a care home in 2017 by another resident, causing him physical injury and distress. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because it is late.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr X, complains on behalf of his late father, Mr F, that the Council failed in its duty of care to keep Mr F safe in a care home. Mr X says Mr F was attacked in a care home in 2017 by another resident, causing Mr F injury.
2. Mr X says this caused Mr F physical injury and distress.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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)

6. We normally name care homes and other providers in our decision statements. However, we will not do so if we think someone could be identified from the name of the care home or care provider. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34H(8), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

7. Mr X is Mr F’s son and next of kin. Mr F has passed away. I consider that Mr X is a suitable person to represent this complaint on Mr F’s behalf.
8. I considered the information and documents provided by Mr X. I spoke to Mr X about the complaint. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments before I reached a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

9. In 2017, Mr F became a resident at Hall Green Care Home. One night, Mr F was attacked by another resident. This caused injury to Mr F.
10. At that time, Mr X complained to the care home, the Council, the police, and the Care Quality Commission. He then instructed a paralegal company to pursue a claim.
11. In 2020, after three years, the legal firm declined to continue to represent Mr X’s case.
12. Mr X says that in October 2020, when looking for a different kind of ombudsman for an unrelated matter, he found details for this Ombudsman and decided to raise his complaint with us.
13. The Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints that are more than 12 months after the complainant first had knowledge of the problem, unless there are good reasons to do so.
14. In this case, Mr X complained appropriately to the care home and the Council in 2017. However, he did not bring his complaint to the Ombudsman until 2020, nearly four years later.
15. Mr X says he did not know about the Ombudsman until he was looking for an ombudsman for an unrelated matter. He then decided to bring his complaint to us.
16. In order for the Ombudsman to exercise his discretion and consider a late complaint, there are strict tests that must be met. In this case, I do not consider that those tests are met. I do not find there are clear and compelling reasons that satisfy those tests to exercise the Ombudsman’s discretion. For this reason, I will not investigate this late complaint.

Back to top

Final decision

17. I have not investigated this complaint because it is too late for the Ombudsman to consider.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman