Summary: Ms X is complaining about the care and support provided to her father, Mr Y, by Essex County Care Ltd, Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and Essex County Council. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint due to the time that has passed since the events she is complaining about took place.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, is complaining about the care provided to her father, Mr Y, in a care home operated by Essex County Care Ltd (the Care Provider) in late 2021. In addition, Ms X is complaining about the care and support provided by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) during this period. Further Ms X complains about the handling of a safeguarding investigation by Essex County Council (the Council) and the Trust.
2. Ms X says the Care Provider and Trust failed to provide appropriate dementia care for Mr Y. In addition, she complains that the Care Provider failed to take prompt action when Mr Y fell and broke his leg. Ms X says the subsequent safeguarding investigation was flawed and that she was not informed of the outcome.
3. Ms X says these events were very distressing for both her and Mr Y, who was left in unnecessary pain.
4. Ms X says she wants the organisations caring for Mr Y to accept responsibility for the failings in his care and take action to prevent similar problems occurring in future.

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The Ombudsmen’s role and powers

5. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and Health Service Ombudsman have the power to jointly consider complaints about health and social care. (Local Government Act 1974, section 33ZA, as amended, and Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 18ZA).
6. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe the passage of time would prevent us from undertaking an effective investigation and reaching robust conclusions.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Trust as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. I also considered comments from Ms X on my draft decision.

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What I found

9. Mr Y had complex needs and a diagnosis of dementia. In 2021, he was resident in the care home. He was also under the care of the Trust and had an allocated Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN).
10. In late 2021, Mr Y suffered a series of falls. These culminated with a further fall in December 2021 in which Mr Y suffered a broken leg. Mr Y was admitted to hospital the following day.
11. Ms X complained to the Care Provider in January 2022.
12. In the meantime, the hospital made a safeguarding referral to the Council. Having received the referral, the Council asked the Trust to undertake safeguarding enquiries. As Ms X was dissatisfied with the Care Provider’s response, she forwarded details of her complaint to the Trust for inclusion in the safeguarding investigation.
13. The Trust’s enquiries began in March and concluded in May. Ms X was unhappy with the outcome of the safeguarding process and complained in November. This complaint included her concerns about the safeguarding process and the care provided by the CPN.
14. This led the Trust to reopen the safeguarding case. Further enquiries substantiated the Trust’s original findings, and the safeguarding case was closed in August 2023. However, Ms X submitted further evidence, and the safeguarding process was again reopened. After a review, the Trust closed the process again in October with the same outcome.
15. Ms X subsequently submitted a complaint to the Trust in October 2023. The Trust investigated and responded in February 2025. The response acknowledged that poor communication between the complaints and safeguarding teams had contributed to this delay.
16. In the meantime, Ms X also sought legal advice with a view to making a claim. However, after around a year, the solicitors declined to take the case forward.
17. Ms X then complained to the Ombudsmen.
18. The Ombudsmen ordinarily expect to receive a complaint within 12 months of the person becoming aware of the events they are complaining about. This is because the passage of time can make it more difficult to investigate a complaint effectively. For example, evidence (such as care records or staff recollections) may be more difficult to secure. Further, local policies, procedures and personnel may have changed, making it harder for us to make meaningful recommendations or secure the outcomes a person is seeking.
19. The evidence I have seen shows Ms X was aware of her concerns about the care provided to Mr Y at the time of his fall in December 2021. Around three and half years have now passed since these events took place.
20. I note there were delays in both the safeguarding and complaints processes. I accept this will have had an impact on Ms X’s ability to complain to the Ombudsmen. I also recognise the significant burden placed on Ms X by her caring responsibilities will have caused her further difficulty.
21. Nevertheless, these factors do not satisfactorily explain such a long delay. In my view, it was reasonable to expect Ms X to approach us with her concerns sooner than she did.
22. I also note Ms X’s decision to seek legal advice. Ms X was within her rights to do so. Unfortunately, this contributed further to her delay in approaching us.
23. Taking everything into account, I have seen no good reason to investigate Ms X’s complaint at this late stage.
24. Ms X is also complaint about the handling of the safeguarding process, which took place between March 2022 and October 2023. The evidence suggests Ms X was unhappy with this process as early as May 2022, and certainly by October 2023. Again, I consider it was reasonable to expect Ms X to approach us with her concerns before she did. For this reason, we will similarly not investigate this part of Ms X’s complaint.

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Final Decision

25. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. This is because a significant amount of time has now passed since the events Ms X is complaining about occurred. We can see no good reason to investigate the complaint at this late stage.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman