Summary: Mr X complained a social worker visited his mother in her home without warning in response to a safeguarding concern raised by a domiciliary care worker. The Council was not at fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained a social worker visited his mother, Mrs Y, in her home without warning in response to a safeguarding concern raised by a domiciliary care worker. He said this made his mother feel uncomfortable and it breached her human rights. As a result of this, Mr X and his mother’s relationship with the Care Provider has broken down which has left his mother without a care package with the Care Provider. Mr X said this has caused him and his mother distress. He wants the Council to reinstate the package of care with the Care Provider.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke with Mr X about his complaint.
6. I considered the information Mr X provided.
7. I considered the information the Council provided.
8. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Adult Social Care Safeguarding

9. A council must make enquiries if it has reason to think a person may be at risk of abuse or neglect and has care and support needs which mean the person cannot protect themself. An enquiry is the action taken by a council in response to a concern about abuse or neglect. An enquiry could range from a conversation with the person who is the subject of the concern to a more formal multi-agency arrangement. A council must also decide whether it or another person or agency should take any action to protect the person from abuse. (section 42, Care Act 2014)

The Human Rights Act 1998

10. The Human Rights Act 1998 sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that everyone in the UK is entitled to.
11. Article 8 of the Act states everyone has the right to respect for private and family life, their home and correspondence. Article 8 rights may be interfered with subject to certain restrictions that are in accordance with the law, in pursuit of a legitimate aim (which means in the interests of public safety, protection of public order, health or morals and protection of rights and freedoms of others), necessary in a democratic society and proportionate.
12. The Ombudsman’s remit does not extend to making decisions on whether or not a body in jurisdiction has breached the Human Rights Act – this can only be done by the courts. But the Ombudsman can make decisions about whether or not a body in jurisdiction has had due regard to an individual’s human rights in their treatment of them, as part of our consideration of a complaint.

What happened

13. Mrs Y has health problems and requires help with things such as personal care and activities of daily living. From 2019, care workers delivered care to Mrs Y three times a day in her own home.
14. In July 2021, during a lunchtime visit, a care worker witnessed Mrs Y and Mr X shouting at each other. The Care Worker was distressed by the situation and so reported the matter to their manager. As a result, the Care Provider made a safeguarding alert to the Council. Following this, in August 2021, a social worker visited Mrs Y in her home. The visit was unannounced. The Social Worker wanted to discuss the incident the Care Worker had recently witnessed and assess Mrs Y’s emotional well-being. Mrs Y was willing to engage in a discussion with the Social Worker. In response, Mrs Y denied the argument had happened between her and her son. The Council took no further action following the Social Worker’s visit.
15. Mr X later complained to the Council. He said the Care Worker’s allegation about what had happened between him and his mother was inappropriate. He said he was unhappy the Social Worker had visited his mother and that their visit was unannounced. Mr X said the Social Worker had invaded Mrs Y’s privacy and as a result, this was a violation of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.
16. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint. The Council said a care worker notified it a heated conversation had taken place between Mr X and Mrs Y. As the Council was not aware of the nature of the conversation, it had asked a social worker to visit Mrs Y to get her understanding of what had happened. The Council continued and said the Social Worker did not violate the Human Rights Act with their actions.
17. The Council added, “As a local authority, we have a duty to respond to concerns that are raised. We are required to establish if there is in fact a concern and ascertain the views of the person it affects. We are required to make enquiries in order to safeguard those who are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing harm and abuse, who have care and support needs and may be unable to protect themselves”.
18. Mr X was unhappy with the Council’s response. He therefore escalated his complaint further. As part of his complaint, Mr X said almost all care workers delivered poor care to his mother. He said as a result, he has had to supervise the care workers and often, he has told them to leave. Mr X said due to a lack of care workers who are able to provide good care to his mother, he has had to take responsibility and provide the care himself. Mr X explained how he has struggled with providing the care. He told the Council he wants the care for his mother to be improved.
19. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint. It reiterated to Mr X its duty to respond to safeguarding concerns. The Council then acknowledged Mr X’s concerns about the care workers. It did not agree with Mr X that the care workers were unable to provide good care to his mother. The Council said Mr X’s current carer’s assessment did not reflect his difficulties and his part in caring for his mother. The Council then advised Mr X that to resolve his complaint, it needed to complete a review of Mrs Y’s care and support plan and a new carer’s assessment for Mr X so that it was aware of what support he needed in place. The Council asked Mr X and Mrs Y to contact it to arrange the review and assessment.
20. In February 2022, Mr X complained to the Council again. In his complaint, Mr X said the Care Provider had terminated its contract with Mrs Y and the Council had instructed it to do so. The Council responded to Mr X and said it had not instructed the Care Provider to terminate the contract. It explained to Mr X the Care Provider said its care workers had refused to visit Mrs Y due to Mr X’s poor behaviour towards them. The Council said it had offered Mrs Y and Mr X alternative support arrangements however, Mr X had declined this. It urged Mr X and Mrs Y to reconsider the offer.
21. Mr X remained unhappy and complained to us.

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Findings

22. Mr X said the Council acted inappropriately when the Social Worker visited his mother. A care worker said they witnessed an argument between Mrs Y and Mr X. The Care Provider reported their concern to the Council. In response, the Council initiated a safeguarding enquiry to determine if Mrs Y was experiencing or at risk of abuse and if so, whether it needed to take any action to protect Mrs Y from the abuse. It visited Mrs Y, discussed the concern with her and decided no further action was necessary. The Council acted in line with the Care Act 2014. It was not at fault. I have seen no evidence the Council placed any restrictions on Mr X and Mrs Y or treated them in a way that was incompatible with their rights under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.
23. Mr X wants the Council to reinstate his mother’s care package with the Care Provider. However, Mr X was not satisfied with the care its care workers delivered to his mother and so the Care Provider had insufficient workers available to support Mrs Y. The Council offered to arrange alternative care provision to ensure Mrs Y’s care needs were met which Mr X had refused. This offer remains open to Mr X and Mrs Y. There was no fault with the Council’s actions.

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Final decision

24. I have now completed my investigation. The Council was not at fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman