Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council consented for surgery to be carried out on a looked after child. This is because the matter has been subject to court proceedings which places it outside of our jurisdiction. We cannot investigate any complications caused by the surgery as the actions of the NHS are not within our jurisdiction. Other matters that the complainant raised happened too long ago.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Miss X, complains about the care her child has received. Her child is looked after, and I will call him Z. Miss X says the Council consented to surgery being carried out on Z which resulted in injuries. Miss X believes that the injuries were caused during the surgery. Miss X also complains about other unexplained injuries to Z in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. I cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council consented to surgery being carried out on Z. This is because Miss X disagreed at the time so the matter was decided in court. We cannot investigate any decisions that have been subject to court proceedings.
8. I cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint that the injuries to her son were caused during the surgery. This is because we cannot investigate the actions of the NHS in relation to medical matters.  Complaints about NHS matters are for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to consider.
9. Finally, I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about other unexplained injuries to Z. This is because these matters happened too long ago and I see no reason why they could not have been raised with the Ombudsman sooner.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the issue of consent has been considered in court, we cannot investigate the actions of the NHS and other matters happened too long ago.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman