Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a care provider fabricating how his mother sustained some injuries in 2020. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for why Mr X did not complain about the matter earlier. In addition, even if we were to exercise discretion, we would not be able to achieve the outcome Mr X wants.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about a care provider fabricating how his mother sustained some injuries in 2020. He says the care provider has never provided an adequate explanation for how his mother was injured.

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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)
3. We investigate complaints about adult social care providers. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 34B(8) and (9))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X’s mother received injuries following an incident in August 2020. Mr X was aware of this incident and evidence shows the care provider provided him with the incident form detailing what happened in October 2020 and a meeting was held to discuss the incident
7. The care provider outlined the timeline of contact with Mr X since the incident in August 2020. This showed Mr X was in regular contact with the care provider but there was no further contact regarding the incident in August 2020.
8. Mr X told us he complained to the care provider in January 2022. This was more than 12 months since he first became aware of the incident and injuries. I note Mr X said the care provider took two years to deal with his complaint. However, the evidence provided by the care provider does not support this as Mr X did not make a complaint in 2020 or 2021.
9. Therefore, Mr X’s complaint is late and there are no good reasons for me to exercise discretion to consider the late complaint. This is because Mr X could have complained earlier as he was aware of the incident in August 2020 and first became aware of what was written in the incident form in October 2020.
10. In any case, even if I were to exercise discretion to consider the complaint, we would not investigate as we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants. Mr X wants to know what happened on the day of the incident and.
11. However, we would only be able to review the evidence collected at the time of the incident, including the incident form Mr X believes is fabricated. Due to the amount of time passed, we would not be able to gather any new evidence. Therefore, it is unlikely we would be able to reach any findings on what happened to cause the incident.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for why Mr X did not complain about the matter earlier. In addition, even if we were to exercise discretion, we would not be able to achieve the outcome Mr X wants. Therefore, it is not proportionate for us to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman