Summary: The Ombudsmen have decided they will not investigate a complaint about a person’s health and social care as it has not been made by a suitable person.

The complaint

1. Mr A complains about a lack of appropriate, co-ordinated care planning or support provided for his daughter, Ms B, throughout 2018. In relation to this, Mr A complains that professionals failed to do enough to find out who Ms B’s next of kin was. Mr A said this meant no one contacted him about Ms B’s poor health or living situation and, as a result, he was not able to intervene and help her.
2. Mr A said he would like an overall investigation into the medical factors which led to Ms B’s death, and whether appropriate social care and safeguarding support was provided each time she left hospital in 2018.

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The Ombudsmen’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsmen have the power to jointly consider complaints about health and social care. Since April 2015, a single team has considered these complaints acting on behalf of both Ombudsmen. (Local Government Act 1974, section 33ZA,as amended, and Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 18ZA)
4. The Ombudsmen may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. The Ombudsmen may also investigate a complaint on behalf of someone who cannot authorise someone to act for them, if the Ombudsmen consider them to be a suitable representative. (Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 9(3) and Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(2)) (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered Mr A’s written complaint along with the supporting information he provided and spoke to him on the telephone. I shared a confidential draft decision with Mr A and invited his comments on it.

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What I found

6. Ms B was Mr A’s daughter. In the late 1990s she left the parental home and moved into rented accommodation. Mr A advised that during the 2000s he and his wife lost touch with Ms B. He said he was led to assume that other family members were in touch with her and keeping track of her care.
7. Ms B sadly died in early January 2019. Other members of the family made the funeral arrangements and Ms B was buried abroad. Mr A learned of Ms B’s death around a month after her death from a family member.

Analysis

8. Complaints can be made ‘on behalf of’ someone by a wide range of people or organisations, but only with that person’s consent. Where someone is unable to complain in their own right the Ombudsmen must consider whether their representative can represent their best interests.
9. I understand that Ms B was Mr A’s daughter. However, a close family relationship does not give an automatic right to access to a person’s confidential information, or to act on their behalf.
10. Mr A lost touch with Ms B in the 2000s and they did not have a personal, day‑to‑day relationship for several years. Further, from the information I have seen there are no indications that Ms B sought to involve him in her care during her interactions with health and social care services. It is also apparent that another member of the family acted as the administrator after Ms B’s death and Mr A was not, therefore, Ms B’s personal representative.
11. Overall, despite the family connection, we cannot say that Mr A is a suitable person to bring this complaint about Ms B’s care and treatment to the Ombudsmen.

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Decision

12. I have closed this case on the basis that the complaint has not been made by a suitable complainant.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsmen

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman