Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a care provider administering antipsychotic medication to Ms Y in a residential home. The medication was prescribed by a GP, and we could not say any fault by the care provider caused the injustice Mr X claims.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Care Provider (commissioned by the Council), which he says wrongly gave antipsychotic medication to his aunt, Ms Y, to make her compliant. He says it also falsified records to obtain the prescription.
2. Mr X says this led to Ms Y being confined to a chair and losing her mobility. He says these matters contributed to Ms Y’s death. He says the matter also caused him distress. He wants answers and explanations.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We cannot investigate a complaint where the body complained about is not responsible for the issue being raised. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(1), 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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.

(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 the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Ms Y resided in a residential home. This means the staff at the placement could not prescribe medication, and a GP was required for any prescriptions. The GP prescribed Ms Y an antipsychotic medication. Mr X is concerned the care home staff misled the GP by exaggerating in its records, and therefore believes the Care Provider is responsible for Ms Y’s subsequent decline.
8. The care staff used wording in Ms Y’s records which the Care Provider has accepted was not appropriate. However, we could not say this caused injustice to Ms Y. We could not say now how Ms Y presented at the time, so we could not say the Care Provider exaggerated or misled the GP in order to obtain a prescription for Ms Y. The Care Provider is not responsible for prescribing medication, and it is not fault for the Care Provider to have asked for medical assistance when it believed this necessary.
9. The NHS professional, in this case the GP, is ultimately responsible for prescribing medication. It is open to Mr X to complain to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman about decisions made by NHS staff.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Care Provider’s actions were not responsible for any injustice to Ms Y resulting from medication she was prescribed by a health professional.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman