Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about Mrs Y’s care when she had a period of respite in 2017 and 2018. There is not a good reason Mr X did not complain to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the care received by his mother, Mrs Y, while resident in a care home for respite. This should have been for six weeks in 2017, but due to delays by the Care Provider it continued for several months. The Care Provider did not take action Mr X said it should have, such as contacting Mrs Y’s doctor. It also excluded Mr X from decision-making. Mrs Y’s health deteriorated, and she suffered distress and alarm. Mr X says she would have been able to return home much earlier had it not been for the errors. He wants financial compensation.

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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 care provider 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.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The events Mr X complains about took place in 2017 and 2018. He says he did not complain sooner because he could not access the records he needed to formulate his complaint until late 2021. We do not require people to gather evidence before complaining to us. Mr X could have complained much sooner.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason he did not complain sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman