Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his late grandfather Mr Y’s residential care provision in 2021. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons for us to investigate it now. There is also no worthwhile outcome achievable from us investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X is Mr Y’s grandson. Mr Y was in care home A, a Council-commissioned placement, for about six months until late 2021. The Council moved Mr Y to care home B just before home A closed down. Mr Y has since died. Mr X complains care home A:
1. provided extremely inadequate care to Mr Y;
2. failed to keep Mr Y safe, as he escaped from the home in summer 2021;
3. was rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
2. Mr X says the family was worried and concerned about Mr Y’s welfare during his time at home A. He wants the Council to waive the entire care home bill for Mr Y’s time there, and for the care home to remain closed until it can be run properly.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We expect people to complain to us about something they consider a council or care provider has done wrong within 12 months of them becoming aware of the issues complained of. Mr X and Mr Y’s family had concerns about care home A in 2021, during Mr Y’s stay there. They were aware of Mr Y’s escape from the home soon after he moved in, and all other events there, in 2021. Mr Y brought his complaint to us in October 2023, about two years after Mr Y left home A. This means the complaint is late. We may investigate a late complaint if we consider there are good reasons to do so. There are no such good reasons here. Mr Y’s family could have brought the complaint to us sooner and in time, to raise their injustice and seek the remedies they now want from the complaint.
7. Furthermore, if we were to investigate this late complaint, there is no worthwhile outcome we would achieve. The core aim of our investigations is to remedy injustice to those who may have received poor service or provision. As the resident of home A, it was Mr Y who was the recipient of the home’s provision, and of the Council’s commissioning service. We can no longer remedy any injustice to Mr Y from his time at the home because he has since died. Home A also closed in late 2021, so there is no ongoing issue with its care services which could give us any wider public interest reason to investigate. For these reasons, there is no worthwhile outcome achievable from an investigation.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to investigate it now; and
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable from an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman