Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about adult social care provision, because the injustice he claims is not serious enough to warrant our involvement and the use of public money.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr B, says a care provider acting on behalf of the council provided him with a poor service and did not always meet his care needs and preferences. Some of the examples given by Mr B are the care provider did not always:
• provide male carers as requested.
• provide enough staff to help Mr B shower, and he did not get a shower daily.
• offer fruit and drinks at 11am and 3pm.
• provide enough personal hygiene products, such as toothpaste and soap.
2. Mr B says the care provider’s actions negatively impacted his mental and physical health. Mr B says the care provider is only in the business to make money, and it should give more thought to the individuals it is supposed to care for.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. 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

4. I considered information provided by Mr B, and the Care Provider.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We recognise Mr B’s disappointment in not receiving the level of service he was expecting. However, the impact is not serious enough to justify the use of public money to investigate this complaint. The Council has moved Mr B to another care home, so it has resolved his dissatisfaction with his previous provider and the issues are not ongoing.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr B's complaint because the injustice he claims is not serious enough to warrant our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman