Summary: There was no failure to offer or provide personal care and showering to Mrs Y. So the Care Home which acted for the Council was not at fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about Trentside Manor Care Home, (the Care Home) which the Council commissioned to provide respite care for his mother Mrs Y in September and November 2021. Mr X said the Care Home did not wash or shower Mrs Y and refused to provide further care because he complained. He wants a reduction in the fee.
2. Mr X also complained about Mrs Y developing a wound.

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What I have investigated

3. I investigated the first complaint. My reason for not investigating the second complaint is at the end of this statement.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the complaint to us, the Council’s response to the complaint and information and care documents from the Care Home. I discussed the complaint with Mr X.
7. Mr X, the Council and the Care Home had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. The care plan said Mrs Y required support from one carer with personal care. She needed carers to help her wash after toileting and assistance with changing clothes.
9. The first respite stay was for 13 days in September 2021. The Care Home’s daily records evidence Mrs Y had personal care on 1 September, showers on 2, 3 and 5, September, personal care on 6 September and a shower on 7 September. She refused a shower twice on 8 September, became anxious when offered a shower on 9 September and had showers on 11,12 and 13 September.
10. The second period was a weekend stay in November 2021. The daily records note staff spoke to Mr X about not providing Mrs Y with a change of clothes, including underwear or support stockings and he said to use the ones she was wearing. Staff said this would be difficult because it was not possible to wash and dry them in time and they needed a spare clean set for changing. Mr X refused to provide a change of clothes. The daily records indicate Mrs Y received personal care on the morning and evening of the second day of her stay and she was offered and refused a shower on three occasions. She was supported with personal care on the last day and staff noted her stockings were clean and dry. She refused a shower again.
11. The Care Home’s manager told us staff could not meet Mr X’s expectations around care which included not wanting specific members of staff to care for Mrs Y which made it difficult to provide a 24-hour service to her.
12. The Council did not uphold Mr X’s complaint so he complained to us

Findings

13. When a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf it remains responsible for those services and for the actions of the organisation providing them. Any fault by the Care Home would be fault by the Council.
14. The Care Home, which acted for the Council is not at fault. There is documented evidence in the care notes of Mrs Y receiving and being offered appropriate personal care and showers during both stays.
15. My view is the second stay was made more challenging for care staff because of Mr X’s refusal to provide clean clothes. He told me she appeared dirty when she came home and her feet had not been washed. I do not conclude this was because personal care was not given, but the fact that she had had on the same under and outer clothes and stockings for three consecutive days would have affected her hygiene level. I cannot attribute that to the Care Home because it took reasonable steps to obtain clean clothes.
16. I am satisfied with the Care Home’s explanation about why it is not willing to provide further respite care for Mr X. It means the Council will have to find another care home when Mrs Y needs to have respite care.

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Final decision

17. There was no failure to offer or provide personal care and showering to Mrs Y. I have completed the investigation.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

18. Mr X raised a further issue during this investigation about Mrs Y allegedly having a wound to her skin. I did not investigate this complaint because he did not raise it in his original complaint to us and it is not mentioned in the Council’s complaint response. Mr X needs to complain to the Council and receive a response before we will investigate. I have referred his complaint to the Council and asked it to investigate and provide him with a response. If Mr Y is unhappy with the Council’s response, he can ask us to investigate.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman