Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about Mr Y’s care before his death in 2021. There is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the case to the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the care her father, Mr Y, received in a care home until his death in 2021. The Council commissioned the care. Mrs X wants clarity about what happened.

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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 council or 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 and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr Y passed away in early 2021. Mrs X, his daughter, contacted the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and a solicitor due to her concerns about the quality of Mr Y’s care. She then says she spent time trying to obtain records relating to Mr Y’s care on the advice of her solicitor. She complained to us in late 2022 after being unsuccessful in her attempts to get Mr Y’s care records. We considered a separate complaint about access to information.
6. We cannot investigate late complaints (those made more than 12 months after the person becomes aware of the issue) unless we decide there are good reasons for the delay. Mrs X says the delay in bringing this complaint to us was due to her difficulty obtaining Mr Y’s records, and a coroner’s inquest.
7. The coroner’s inquest completed in May 2021, therefore I cannot say this was responsible for a significant proportion of the delay.
8. We do not require complainants to gather information before complaining to us, and this can cause delays which ultimately mean we can no longer carry out a fair investigation. We could not come to sound conclusions due to the time that has lapsed in this case. Mrs X escalated her concerns to CQC in 2021 and was actively in contact with the Care Provider and a solicitor. It would have been reasonable for her to also complain to us sooner.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in her bringing her complaint to us.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman