Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the respite care provided to Mr X’s late mother. We could not achieve a meaningful outcome by investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the respite care his mother received at the care home was unsatisfactory and contributed to her death. He says the care home’s manager lied about the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating. He says the home should have its CQC license withdrawn and be closed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X’s mother, Mrs Y, had a short respite stay in a care home in early 2023. Mr X says the care was not satisfactory. He says the staff appeared unqualified and the manager appeared uninvolved. The family moved Mrs Y to an alternative care home, where she passed away the following day.
6. Mr X believes poor care was a significant contributing factor to Mrs Y’s death. We could not say this was the case. Mr X describes Mrs Y’s deterioration during her time at the care home, however we cannot say this would not have happened in another care environment.
7. In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Care Provider created a comprehensive action plan which included improving information gathering prior to residents’ admission, better record-keeping, and a clear procedure for reviewing new admissions. If we investigated this complaint, it is unlikely we would achieve something different to this. The Ombudsman does not have the power to withdraw a care provider’s CQC license or have a care home closed down.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we could not achieve a meaningful outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman