The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about neglect to Ms Y in a care home at this time. There is an ongoing safeguarding investigation by the Council. We could not currently come to a sound decision about whether there was fault and, if so, the extent of any injustice it caused Ms Y.
The complaint
Miss X complained about the care her grandmother (Ms Y) received before she died. She says the care home neglected Ms Y. There was an incident in August 2021 where Ms Y’s leg became trapped in a recliner chair, and the care home has denied it was at fault and has not properly investigated. The issues caused the family distress and they want acknowledgement of what happened.
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: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms Y lived in a care home. In August 2021, Ms Y’s leg became trapped in the mechanism of her armchair. This caused her a 1cm x 0.5cm skin tear which required first aid, and the fire brigade were called to assist. The care provider reported the incident to the regional manager and the Council’s safeguarding department. Assessments by the care provider and the company that supplied the chair found no mechanical fault with the chair. It was disposed of after the incident as it had been damaged when removing Ms Y’s leg.
Ms Y has since passed away. There is an active safeguarding investigation open at this time, and so we could not come to any confident conclusions about whether there was fault, and whether Ms Y suffered a significant injustice, until that has completed. It is open to Miss X to bring the complaint back to us within a reasonable period following the conclusion of that safeguarding investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint at this time because we cannot come to sound conclusions about fault and injustice until the Council has completed its safeguarding investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman