The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: The investigation into this complaint is discontinued. The Council acknowledged fault in the way it dealt with requests for social care support for Mr Y and apologised. Any further investigation by this office could not achieve more.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council delayed in responding to requests for social care assistance for her late grandfather, Mr Y. She says the Council failed to keep in touch with the family and failed to provide adequate information.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered the written complaint submitted by Ms X together with the Council’s complaint response, and information it submitted our assessment team.
What I found
Mr Y’s family contacted the Council on 15 September 2021 to request an assessment of his care needs. The assessment took place on 6 October 2021. The Council’s website says assessments should be completed in 28 days, and care in place to meet eligible care needs within 7 days.
There was a delay in the completion of the assessment. Mr Y’s family contacted the Council numerous times to complain and to ask when the assessment would be complete. Due to a delay in a continence assessment Ms X had to purchase continence pads for Mr Y.
The delay meant Ms X had to care for Mr Y alone and in December 2021 she requested a residential respite placement for Mr Y. Mr Y went into respite care on 14 December 2021. The placement was subject to a third-party top-up-fee, which Ms X says was not properly explained.
Ms X says the respite care home was unsuitable and it was unable to meet Mr Y’s needs. Mr Y was admitted to hospital the following day and detained under the mental health act. Sadly, he passed away two days later, 17 December 2021. Mr Y’s family were unable to visit him.
Ms X submitted a formal complaint to the Council. I have had sight of the Council’s response. The author of the letter said the Council had made efforts to source a care package for Mr Y but accepted there was a delay and its contact with the family fell short of expected standards. He offered a sincere apology that that the Council had not provided better support. He set out the steps the Council was taking to improve its contact with service users and their families.
The author explained the increased pressures on social care services were significant and a result of unprecedented circumstances and said the Council were aware of the impact on informal carers. He went onto say the Council had taken Ms X’s complaint seriously and assured her work was underway to prevent a recurrence of the issues she complained about.
Analysis I can see the situation Mr Y and Ms X found themselves in must have been frustrating and stressful. The Council acknowledged its failings and apologised to Ms X before the complaint came to this office. As Mr Y has passed away neither the Council not this office is able to provide remedy for Mr Y’s injustice.
I am not persuaded there could be any worthwhile outcome from investigating the suitability of the care home now. Any identified injustice cannot be remedied for the same reasons set out above.
In respect of Ms X, the Council offered a sincere apology and set out the steps it had taken to prevent a reoccurrence. Any further investigation by this office could not achieve more.
Final decision
The investigation will be discontinued. The Council acknowledged fault in the way it dealt with requests for social care for Mr Y and apologised. Any further investigation by this office could not achieve more.
It is on this basis; the complaint will be closed.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman