Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about Mr X’s residential setting being unable to meet his needs from 2015 to 2017. There is not a good reason Mrs X did not complain sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council wrongly placed her late husband, Mr X, in a residential care unit against the family’s wishes in 2015. The unit could not properly manage Mr X’s complex needs and he was isolated in his room for almost 24 hours a day. Mrs X says the Council continues to chase her for care fees dating from 2015 to 2017, which she does not believe should be due because Mr X did not receive the care he needed. The Council has delayed responding to Mrs X’s complaint. The family have experienced significant distress and Mrs X requests a refund of the care fees Mr X paid from 2015 to 2016, and for the remaining charges to be written off.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The complaint concerns Mr X’s care from 2015 to 2017. During this period, he was not eligible for continuing healthcare funding, so he was expected to pay the Council for his care. Mrs X says the residential unit Mr X was placed in during this time could not manage his complex needs, which resulted in others being injured and Mr X being isolated in his bedroom for most of the time. The family were of the view he should be placed in a different setting.
6. We usually expect complainants to come to us within 12 months of the issue they complain about. Mrs X was of the view in 2015 that the residential unit could not meet Mr X’s complex needs. Mrs X knew about the fees, which she did not think Mr X should be charged, in 2016 and 2017. Mr X died in 2018. The Council began chasing Mrs X for the outstanding fees in January 2020. Mrs X made a formal complaint in January 2021, and the Council sent her a final complaint response in January 2022.
7. I have considered the Council’s role in the time it took for Mrs X to bring this complaint to the Ombudsman. However, Mrs X could have complained much sooner despite the Council’s delay in responding to her formal complaint. There is not a good reason she did not complain in 2015 about the suitability of Mr X’s placement, and there is not a good reason she did not raise a formal complaint to dispute the fees in 2016 and 2017 when they first arose. We will not now investigate this late complaint.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason she did not complain sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman