Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about residential care commissioned by the Council and provided to her late mother Mrs Y. There would be no worthwhile outcome investigation of the complaint would achieve for Mrs Y. An investigation by us would not add to the care firm’s investigation nor achieve a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mrs X is the late Mrs Y’s daughter. Mrs Y lived in Birchmere House until her death in late 2023. Mrs X says Mrs Y and her family entered into a deferred payment arrangement with the Council for care fees after Mrs Y’s own money ran out.
2. Mrs X complains the Care Provider:
1. failed to provide an acceptable level of care to Mrs Y;
2. used inexperienced and unmotivated staff and failed to check on or deal with their poor care;
3. failed to inform the family about an event resulting in Mrs Y’s hospitalisation in 2021.
3. Mrs X says the poor care caused a rapid decline in Mrs Y’s physical and mental health. She says the family has been left with a debt to the Council for Mrs Y’s care fees. Mrs X says the family has been caused a great deal of distress and trauma from seeing Mrs Y’s treatment and need closure to grieve and move on.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome; or
• 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 from Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X considers the Care Provider commissioned by the Council did not give Mrs Y appropriate care during her stay which affected her health. We recognise Mrs X would have been caused upset by Mrs Y’s condition while she was at the home. But if there were failures in the way the Care Provider gave Mrs Y’s care, the injustice caused by any such fault would have been primarily to Mrs Y. We cannot provide a remedy to Mrs Y as she has died, so there would be no worthwhile outcome investigation by us of this part of the complaint would now achieve. We will not investigate where an investigation cannot provide a remedy because the person who could have been affected has died.
7. We understand Mrs X wants a reduction in the fees and other actions because of what she considered to be inadequate care. The Care Provider met with Mrs X to consider her concerns. They assessed the available records of evidence for Mrs Y’s stay, did not identify shortfalls which affected her care, but apologised for any care Mrs X considered had been lacking. The firm also invited Mrs X to provide details of the cost of items Mrs Y owned which were not found, so they could reimburse her. Mrs X refers to various incidents of poor care between 2021 and 2024, including a 2021 incident which led to Mrs Y going to hospital. But there would be no additional evidence available to us now, to determine what happened with Mrs Y’s care up to four years ago, which would allow us to make firm findings and provide the kind of closure or outcomes Mrs X seeks. We could not add to the Care Provider’s own investigation so will not investigate.
8. Mrs X also complains the care Mrs Y received caused her health to worsen. We recognise Mrs X and members of Mrs Y’s family have been understandably greatly distressed by the loss of Mrs Y. But if we investigated, we could not find any action or inaction by the Care Provider caused or contributed to her death. Only a coroner has the authority and standing to make such findings. An investigation by us cannot add to or alter any decisions made by a coroner. Investigation of this part of the complaint would not lead to a different outcome so we will not do so.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because:
• there would be no worthwhile outcome investigation of the complaint would achieve for Mrs Y; and
• an investigation by us would not add to the care firm’s investigation; and
• investigation would not achieve a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman