The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate a complaint about the Council’s decision not to discharge Mrs H into a care home in August 2019. This is because it is late and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to the desired outcome.
The complaint
Mrs F complains about the care provided to her grandmother, Mrs H, between June 2019 and January 2020. Her complaints include that the Council did not discharge Mrs H to a care home in August 2019. Mrs F says the care package at home did not adequately meet Mrs H’s needs and led to her needing readmission to hospital and a deterioration in her health.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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.
Mrs F provided comments on a draft of my decision statement decision. I considered her comments before reaching my final decision.
My assessment
Mrs H was admitted to hospital in June 2019 with a fractured thigh bone following a fall. Mrs F says the family had concerns she would not manage if she returned home and felt the Council should arrange a care home placement. However, the Council assessed Mrs H’s needs and felt she could return to her own home with a package of care in place. This entailed four carer visits a day.
The hospital discharged Mrs H on 3 August 2019. She attended A&E ten days later with a swollen knee and returned home the following day. On 23 September Mrs H went back to hospital with swollen and painful legs. During this admission she developed hospital acquired pneumonia.
When Mrs H was discharged a month later, she went into a care home. She was readmitted to hospital a few days later with shortness of breath.
The hospital discharged Mrs H in December 2019 and she went into a different care home. She was readmitted to hospital shortly after with an intracerebral haemorrhage (stroke). She remained in hospital until 16 January 2020. Sadly Mrs H died on 17 January.
Mrs F complained to the Council (via the NHS Trust) in September 2020. The Council’s response was not shared with Mrs F until December 2021 because of delays by the NHS Trust. Mrs F complained to the Ombudsman in February 2022.
Mrs F says she did not complain sooner because the family could not access Mrs H’s property because of Covid-19 restrictions in March 2020. She says that in May 2020 she decided she needed help and support to gather her thoughts about the failings in the care provided to Mrs H.
The events related to the Council complaint happened in August 2019. Mrs F says the family were unhappy about the decision at the time but felt the Council or the NHS staff did not listen to them. The family were therefore aware of this issue soon after the point it happened. They could have made a complaint to the Council at this time, or soon after when Mrs H was readmitted to hospital if they considered this was a contributory factor. However, Mrs F did not complain to the Council until around a year later.
I have considered the reasons Mrs F has given for not complaining sooner. Restrictions because of Covid-19 were not in place until March 2020 and, access to Mrs H’s property would not have prevented Mrs F from making this complaint.
I therefore consider Mrs F could have brought this complaint to the Ombudsman sooner. I have noted the time taken for local resolution to conclude and taken this into account. However, the complaint was already late when a complaint was made to the Council and there was a further two months after the Council’s response before Mrs F complained to the Ombudsman.
Mrs F has been aware of the issues she complains about for more than 12 months before complaining to the Ombudsman. This means her complaint is ‘late’ and I have seen no good reason why the complaint could not have been made to the Ombudsman sooner.
Mrs H’s hospital admissions after June 2019 were for other health issues. The carer records refer to Mrs H washing and dressing independently before carers arrived. Mrs F also considers medication changes by clinicians contributed to Mrs H’s stroke. Therefore, if we did investigate, I consider it is unlikely we could link any fault with the discharge arrangements in August 2019 to subsequent hospital admissions or a worsening in Mrs H’s overall health.
Final decision
The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because it is late and there are no good reasons for us to investigate it now.
Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman