Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s commissioned Nursing Home donating her late mother’s belongings. This is because a further investigation would not lead to a different outcome and we could not add to the previous investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council’s commissioned Nursing Home donated her mother’s belongings to a charity and other residents, without her consent. Mrs X said the matter caused her distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X said following her mother’s death at the Nursing Home, she spoke with staff at the Nursing Home about her mother’s belongings in her room. Mrs X asked staff whether the Nursing Home would take any belongings which she did not need. Mrs X said staff told her they would place her mother’s belongings in a box and keep them aside until Mrs X returned to sort through them.
6. Mrs X said when she returned, she had found staff had donated her mother’s belongings to other residents and a charity shop. Mrs X was upset and complained to the Care Provider.
7. In response to Mrs X's complaint, the Care Provider said:
• it had donated the belongings to other residents and a charity shop based on a verbal agreement Mrs X had made with the Nursing Home staff. It did not have a written record of which charity shop it had donated the items to. The Care Provider apologised to Mrs X; and
• since Mrs X’s complaint, it had implemented new policies to ensure all belongings were documented upon admission and that it required written consent from family members before removing any belongings.
8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because we would not be able to establish whether Mrs X had given verbal consent to the Nursing Home to donate her mother’s belongings without supporting evidence. A further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
9. Furthermore, the Care Provider accepted fault with its lack of policies in relation to residents’ belongings. It apologised to Mrs X and explained it had made service improvements to prevent a recurrence of fault. This was appropriate. We could not add to the investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because a further investigation would not lead to a different outcome and we could not add to the previous investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman