Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the care the complainant received in a care home in 2013. This is because it is a late complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant’s representative, Ms X, complains about the care provided by a care home in 2013.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read the complaint and the decisions we have made on previous complaints by Ms X. I considered comments Ms X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

5. Ms X’s late father (Mr Y) went to live in a care home in 2013. Ms X says the home provided a poor standard of care. She says the home used a catheter when one was not needed. Ms X says this resulted in sepsis and a hospital admission. Ms X says she complained to the care home in 2013 but did not get a reply.
6. Ms X complained to us in 2016 about similar issues. She complained about inappropriate use of a catheter resulting in a hospital admission in 2016. She says the care home ended her father’s placement while he was in hospital and it was hard to find a new care home. In our decision statement in 2016 we stated that Mr Y had been in the care home since 2013 and that the care home had a record of Ms X raising concerns about his care in November 2015.
7. Ms X complained to us in 2021 about the care Mr Y received in the care home in 2013.

Assessment

8. I will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint. Ms X is complaining about events that occurred eight years ago. Ms X says she complained to the care provider in 2013 and did not get a reply. Ms X could have escalated her complaint to us in 2013 or raised it as a separate issue when she complained to us in 2016. Ms X says she was not aware of us in 2013 but she was aware in 2016 because she made a complaint to us.
9. I have not seen any good reason to investigate such a late complaint when Ms X could have raised it in 2016. In addition, there appears to be some overlap with the complaints Ms X is making now and the complaints she made in 2016; we cannot investigate issues we have already investigated. For example, Ms X complains of poor catheter care in 2013 and she raised the same issue as part of the 2016 complaint. We did not, in 2016, make a finding of fault in relation to the home’s use of catheters.
10. Ms X says the care home still uses catheters unnecessarily and she is worried about other residents. However, Ms X has no authority to complain on behalf of other residents. It would be open for other residents, or their representatives, to make a complaint to us if they have concerns about their care.

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Final decision

11. I will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman