Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about care provided to her late mother, Mrs C. This is because further investigation by the Ombudsman could not add to the Council’s response or make a finding of the kind Mrs B wants. Mrs C is now deceased so we cannot provide a remedy to her for any injustice caused by fault an investigation might uncover.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complained about the care her late mother Mrs C received prior to her moving to a different home in May 2020. Mrs B complained Mrs C was supported with her care needs and records for two dates in May were inaccurate. Mrs B says the family were not told Mrs C had an infection and if they had of known they would have requested a post-mortem when she died. Mrs B is also concerned about irrelevant information contained in the safeguarding report.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with 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, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. The complainant had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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My assessment

6. Mrs C lived in the home from December 2019 until she moved to a nursing home on 20 May 2020 where she sadly passed away. Mrs B complained about the care and support Mrs C received at the home in July 2020. The Council investigated Mrs B’s concerns under its responsibility for safeguarding vulnerable adults.
7. Mrs B was concerned records for 19 May had been doctored and Mrs C’s medication had not been given to her to take to her new home. The Council acknowledged the record dated 19 May was misleading but confirmed Mrs C’s care was not compromised because of this. The care home Manager confirmed she had written the conflicting statement but could not remember where the information had come from which had unfortunately led to human error. The Council says once the findings from the swab was received on 20 May showing infection, Mrs C was given her medication. Records show Mrs C received two doses before moving on 20 May and the Council confirmed her medication was received by the nursing home who continued to administer it.
8. We could not add to this or make a different finding even if we investigated. Sadly Mrs C is now deceased so we could not remedy an injustice caused to her from fault an investigation might now find.
9. Mrs B complained about irrelevant information contained in the safeguarding report. The Council apologised for this and acknowledged it was irrelevant information. The Council says it offered to remove the information before circulating it to a wider audience, but Mrs B asked that the report remain intact. Mrs B says the information was already there and she had seen it.
10. We could not add to this point. The Council offered to remove the irrelevant information, but Mrs B declined this offer. It apologised for including it and we are satisfied this remedies the injustice caused to Mrs B.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because further investigation by the Ombudsman could not add to the Council’s response or make a finding of the kind Mrs B wants. Mrs C is now deceased so we cannot provide a remedy to her for any injustice caused by fault an investigation might uncover. The Council has apologised for including irrelevant information in the report and we could achieve no more than this even if we investigated.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman