Gloucestershire County Council (24 009 419)
Category : Adult care services > Safeguarding
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Nov 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement in Mr X’s care. The substantive matters are late and there is not a good reason for the delay in them being brought to the Ombudsman.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained about the Council’s involvement in her uncle’s (Mr Y’s) care between 2019 and 2023. Her complaints included the Council:
- did not properly consider her concerns about Mr Y’s partner, Mrs Z;
- did not properly consider her request for Mr Y to move to a care home closer to where she lived;
- delayed handing over relevant information when she became court-appointed deputy for Mr Y’s finances; and;
- allowed Mrs Z to sell Mr Y’s possessions.
- Mrs X said the matter caused her significant distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X found out Mr Y had moved into a care home in 2019. Mrs X raised concerns relating to Mrs Z, who she said had not told the Council about Mr Y’s family. Mrs X raised concerns Mrs Z was taking steps to sell Mr Y’s possessions.
- Mrs X complained to the Council in 2020 and requested Mr Y move to live closer to her. The Council issued Mrs X a complaint response in early 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic then delayed the Council considering the possibility of Mr Y moving. Mr Y moved to a care home closer to Mrs X in August 2021.
- Mrs X was appointed deputy for Mr Y’s finances in 2022. She says the Council was then slow in passing her the information she required, and she says she discovered it had not made some payments. She says the Council still holds around £3,000 of Mr Y’s pension.
- Mr Y died in March 2023. Mrs X found out in August 2023 Mrs Z had sold the last of his belongings.
- The law says people must bring complaints to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter. Mrs X complained to us in August 2024.
Events of 2019 to 2020
- Mrs X told us she had health conditions that meant she was required to shield during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shielding during lockdowns did not mean Mrs X was prevented from contacting us, and it was open to her at the time to escalate the complaint she had already made to the Council. In any event, Mrs X could have escalated her complaint when lockdowns lifted entirely in early 2021. There is not a good reason us to consider complaints from 2019 and 2020 now.
Events of 2021 to 2023
- Subsequent events also occurred more than 12 months before Mrs X complained to us. These complaints are therefore also late, and I have separately considered whether there is good reason now to consider this later period.
- Mrs X could have complained to the Council by early 2023 about its delay providing her information she required to carry out her role as Mr Y’s deputy. There is no evidence she did so. Mr Y then died.
- Mrs X found out about Mrs Z selling the last of Mr Y’s possessions in August 2023, which was only slightly more than 12 months before she came to us. However, this related to concerns she was already raising with the Council in 2020 and she could have escalated the matter at that time.
- Mrs X says it took her more than a year after Mr Y’s death to feel well enough to contact us. I have taken into account that some delay can be attributed to grief after Mr Y’s death, as well as Mrs X’s health condition.
- Mrs X could have asked a representative to contact the Council, then us, in 2023 if she did not feel able to. She has not made us aware of any extenuating circumstances that meant she could not complain sooner, for example long-term hospitalisation or grief that was particularly debilitating. She also contacted the police during this time, so could have contacted us.
- I have taken Mrs X’s circumstances into account, but there is not good reason for the length of delay in bringing the matter to us. We therefore will not investigate complaints about these later matters now.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in her bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman