Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaints that the Council failed to properly investigate her concerns about the care her mother received at a supported living facility. It is unlikely further investigation could achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained her mother, Mrs M, received poor personal care at a supported living facility. Ms X believes this may have contributed to Mrs M’s death.
2. Ms X says she wants the facility to be prosecuted.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome; or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mrs M used to live in a supported living facility where she received a package of care.
7. In June 2022, Ms X made a number of complaints about the care Mrs M was receiving. The Council began two safeguarding enquiries into some of these. It responded to others under its complaints procedures.
8. The Council’s investigations were robust and evidence based. It tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to contact Ms X to discuss her complaints further, it made a decision on each aspect of her complaints and explained the reasons why it had made each of its decisions.
9. It said it would reopen those complaints where it did not have enough detail if Ms X could provide more information. Other complaints were the subject of two ongoing safeguarding enquiries, but the Council came to what conclusions it could and said there would be further findings once the enquiries had concluded.
10. The Council upheld most of Ms X’s complaints and apologised because Mrs M did not have the care she always needed. It also detailed the service improvements it would make to prevent a re-occurrence. These were appropriate to address the Council’s findings.
11. It is unlikely we would find fault in how the investigation was carried out. As a result, it is unlikely an investigation by the Ombudsman into the care received by Mrs M could add anything more to those carried out by the Council. In addition, Ms X wants the facility to be prosecuted and we do not have the power to achieve that.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we could not add to the investigation already carried out by the Council and we cannot achieve the outcome Ms X wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman