Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council placing Mrs B’s late mother, Mrs C in a care home which did not meet the fundamental standards of the Care Quality Commission. This is because we could not add to the Council’s response or make a different finding of the kind Mrs B wants.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complained the Council placed her late mother, Mrs C, in a care home which did not meet the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) fundamental standards of care. Mrs B says nursing care was poor, staff were rude and arrogant, and procedures were not followed. Mrs B says Mrs C was placed in a small unsuitable room and not treated with respect or dignity. Mrs B says the Care Provider has not been held accountable for the poor standard of care Mrs C received and wants the Council to reimburse Mrs C’s estate with some of the money she paid for her care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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. The Council arranged for Mrs C to be discharged from hospital to the care home in June 2020. Mrs C’s placement was commissioned by the Council under Covid-19 discharge and support funding. In February 2021, the Council contacted Mrs B to explain Coved-19 funding would end in March. Mrs B confirmed she would arrange funding Mrs C’s placement privately for a few months until her assets fell below the threshold for full self-funding. The Council issued the Care Provider with notice and Mrs B entered into a private arrangement with the Care Prover until 20 November 2021 when the Council took over funding.
6. The Council acknowledged Mrs B’s concerns about the Care Provider requiring improvement and explained it was notified in October 2020 the CQC inspection had rated the home as inadequate. It explained it placed an embargo on the home and closely monitored and worked with CQC to ensure residents living in the home were being properly cared for. It confirmed there was no breakdown in Mrs C’s care at the time. The Council undertook a safeguarding investigation into concerns raised around Mrs C’s capacity, medication, and PRN. It confirmed it has an action plan in place and these concerns continue to be monitored.
7. We could not provide Mrs C with a remedy for any injustice caused to her even if we investigated and found evidence of fault as sadly she is deceased. The Council has confirmed it was monitoring Mrs C’s care and had no concerns at the time. It has explained it has an action plan in place to monitor concerns under its safeguarding responsibilities and it will continue to liaise with CQC about the inadequate Care Provider. We could not add to this.
8. Mrs B is unhappy with the way she was treated by the Care Provider. She says staff and management were arrogant and rude towards her. We could not make a finding on the way Mrs B perceived she was treated by Mrs C’s Care Provider.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because we could not add to the responses Mrs B has received from the Council or make a different finding of the kind she wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman