Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Care Home was responsible for losing his father’s hearing aids. That is because the court deals with matters of liability.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained on behalf of his father, Mr Y. He said that a Care Home owned by B&M Investments Ltd (B&M Care) had lost Mr Y’s hearing aids whilst on respite. He also said it failed to reassess his needs on admission.
2. Mr X said Mr Y left respite unwell and confused. He wants B&M Care to reimburse the cost of the hearing aids and the respite.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about adult social care providers and decide whether their actions have caused an injustice, or could have caused injustice, to the person making the complaint. I have used the term fault to describe such actions. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 34 B, 34C and 34 H(3 and 4) as amended)
5. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Care Provider.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X’s main complaint is one of liability loss, in that B&M Care is responsible for the loss of Mr Y’s personal property. Liability is a legal issue which can only be settled by an insurance claim or in court. B&M Care has told Mr X it does not carry insurance for residents’ personal belongings. If the hearing aids were not insured through Mr Y’s own policy, Mr X would need to take the matter to court. Therefore, we will not consider this complaint further. We cannot make a decision on liability and the court system provides a process for Mr X to pursue the desired financial outcome.
9. In respect of Mr X’s complaint that Mr Y’s care plan had not been reviewed on admission, there is nothing to suggest that this has caused Mr Y a significant injustice. Mr X said Mr Y left respite unwell, however, there is no causal link between that and the Care Home not completing a care plan review. Nor could I say if the Care Home had reviewed the care plan it would have prevented the loss of Mr Y’s hearing aids. B&M Care confirmed the Care Home updated Mr X’s existing care plan with information about Mr Y’s hearing aids and that these went missing mid-stay. As there is nothing to indicate the Care Home’s actions have caused a significant injustice, we will not investigate this complaint further.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it would be best considered by the court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman