Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care fees because there is no evidence to support the Care Provider’s actions have caused injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs B says the care provider charged care fees after her grandmother’s death because she did not collect her grandmother’s belongings. Mrs B says the care provider told her not to collect her grandmother’s belongings because of a Covid-19 outbreak in the home; she collected the belongings at the earliest opportunity after she was advised she could. Mrs B would like a refund of care fees for this period.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 34B and 34C)
3. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 34B(8) and (9))
4. When considering complaints, if there is a conflict of evidence, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we will weigh up the available relevant evidence and base our findings on what we think was more likely to have happened. Where there is no available relevant evidence, we may be unable to make a finding.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mrs B’s grandmother lived at Elm Lodge, a nursing home provided by Dr V Sapatnekar (the Care Provider).
8. Mrs B says when her grandmother died the Care Provider told her it would put her grandmother’s belongings in a box for her to collect once the home was clear of Covid-19 as there was a current outbreak in the home. Mrs B says the Care Provider told her there was no rush as it could not re-let the room until the home was clear of Covid-19, and that it would issue a refund of fees paid in advance. Mrs B says the Care Provider called her 12 days later to say the home was now clear of Covid-19 and she could collect her grandmother’s belongings.
9. The Care Provider says it agreed to pack up Mrs B’s grandmother’s belongings into a box for collection because of a Covid-19 outbreak in the home, and told Mrs B she could collect them any time. The Care Provider does not recall saying to wait until the home was clear of Covid-19 to collect them. The Care Provider says it is not likely it would have said that, because it had nowhere to store personal belongings, it could not predict when it would be designated as Covid-19 free, and it could still take new admittances into the home. The Care Provider says the follow up telephone call was not to say the home was now Covid free so Mrs B could collect the belongings, because at that point it was still not designated as free of Covid-19. The Care Provider says this telephone call was a chaser because Mrs B had not collected the belongings.
10. Under its contract the Care Provider can charge a fee after death until personal belongings are collected, because it cannot re-let the room until it is vacant. Mrs B is disputing these fees because she says she was acting as advised by the Care Provider in not collecting her grandmother’s belongings any sooner.
11. Mrs B and the Care Provider each have a differing account of what was said during telephone calls in January 2021. Given the passage of time people’s recollections may be vague. As there is no available relevant evidence to base our findings, we cannot make a balance of probability decision on which version is likely the most accurate.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because there is no evidence to support the Care Provider’s actions have caused injustice to Mrs B.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman