Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Care Provider responded when Ms X raised concerns on two occasions. Investigation by the Ombudsman would not result in a different outcome, as the Care Provider has already addressed the issues sufficiently and there is insufficient evidence its actions caused a significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about poor standards of care provided to her mother (Ms Y) in a care home. She also complains about two incidents in late 2023 - one where her mother’s bedroom carpet was wet, and another where her clothes were wet. Ms X also complains the Care Provider retaliated to her raising these concerns by restricting her contact with Ms Y and serving her notice to leave. She says the matter has caused significant distress for them both She wants the Care Provider to make service improvements.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about adult social care providers. 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, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the care provider, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, sections 34B(8) and (9))

3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Care Provider.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X’s complaint is about two incidents in late 2023:
• In the first incident, her mother’s bedroom floor was wet, and she believes the Care Provider’s response was insufficient.
• In the second incident, her mother’s clothes were wet and there was a disagreement about how care staff should support Ms Y to get clean and changed. Following this, the Care Provider told Ms X she could no longer visit Ms Y in the care home premises.
7. Via its complaints processes, the Care Provider appropriately addressed the incident regarding Ms Y’s bedroom floor. It explained it looked into the matter, had its carpet cleaning machine checked and addressed the matter with the staff. It apologised to Ms X for the distress the event caused.
8. Via its complaints processes, the Care Provider has also considered Ms X’s version of events regarding the second incident, and reconsidered her ability to visit her mother in the care home. There are now conditions in place which enable her and Ms Y to continue to have contact in the care home.
9. The conditions that are now in place do not appear unreasonably restrictive. There was a two-month period during which Ms X was not allowed to visit her mother in the care home at all. However, on balance we could not say this was a significant injustice or that the injustice was caused by the Care Provider’s actions. Ms X was entitled to take her mother out during this time, and the Care Provider did not serve Ms Y notice to leave. We could not say what exactly happened during both incidents as we were not present, and the Care Provider is entitled to place restrictions on people’s visiting if it believes this is necessary to protect its staff and other residents. There is no evidence that leads me to believe it would be appropriate for us to ask the Care Provider to apologise or make changes to its processes, and so we could not achieve anything of value which would differ to the actions the Care Provider has already taken.
10. Ms X says she has other concerns around Ms Y’s quality of care, however these have not been included in her complaints to the Care Provider. Before we can consider a matter, we must be satisfied the body has had the opportunity to respond to a complaint about it. I have therefore considered only the issues Ms Y has already complained to the Care Provider about.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because this would not result in a different outcome, as the Care Provider has already addressed the issues sufficiently and there is insufficient evidence its actions caused a significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman