Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the standard of care at a respite placement after she had an operation. There is not enough evidence of actions by the care provider causing the injustices claimed, and insufficient personal injustice to her caused by other complaint issues, to warrant us investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs X went into a respite stay at a care home after major surgery. Mrs X complains the home staff:
1. provided a poor standard of personal care;
2. failed to provide her with emotional support.
2. Mrs X says an attempt to make her own bed dislodged a drain tube from her operation, which then had to be removed early. She says the poor care meant she had to leave after one week despite booking two weeks at the home and the firm will not provide a refund. Mrs X wants the care firm to show more concern and compassion, provide better care and admit to its shortcomings.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 34B(8) and (9))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information from Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X says the care provider gave a poor standard of care. In her complaint to the firm she mentions:

• carers did not make her bed so she tried to do so herself, resulting in her surgical drain becoming dislodged;
• staff left drinking water unchanged for days;
• the home did not allow her husband to join her for lunch;
• her call bell was out of reach when she was in her chair;
• staff did not make her a cup of tea each lunchtime and dinner;
• she had to wait three days for staff to wash her hair and on the second occasion was left to dry own hair, when she could only use one of her arms;
• the home’s management did not reply to her husband’s call about her care.

7. The most serious event here was Mrs X’s dislodged surgical drain. But we cannot find the care firm’s action resulted in this. Mrs X could have asked for help from staff to reorganise her bed rather than doing this herself. If Mrs X had also raised with the care firm at the time the drinking water, Mr X’s lunch visit, the call bell and her requests for tea, staff would have had the opportunity to try to resolve them. We recognise Mrs X may have sought not to make demands while at the home. But she was paying for her placement so it was open to her to make requests for help and service from staff.
8. While there was some delay and problem with Mrs X’s hair washes, the care provider says she sometimes declined that service. Mrs X and the care home dispute as to whether the home’s management returned Mr X’s call about her care. In any event, even if there has been fault by the care firm on those issues, they do not cause a significant personal injustice to Mrs X which would warrant us investigating.
9. Mrs X says staff did not give her enough emotional support. We recognise Mrs X had been through an upsetting procedure at the hospital. The primary role of care staff is to provide practical social care. It would have been best practice for staff to also provide some emotional support alongside that of Mrs X’s family or friends. But there is not sufficient personal injustice caused to Mrs X from having a week at the home with what she considered to be insufficient emotional support from its staff to warrant us investigating now.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because:
• there is not enough evidence of actions by the care provider causing the injustice claimed to justify an investigation; and
• there is insufficient personal injustice to her caused by other matters complained of to warrant us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman