The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about care provided to Mr X’s late mother, Ms Y. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Care Home’s actions.
The complaint
Mr X complained the care home (the Home) where his mother, Ms Y lived, failed to install bedrails or crashmats after she fell. He said Ms Y deteriorated mentally and physically whilst living at the Home. He wants a complete refund of Ms Y’s care fees as compensation for the care provided.
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.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Care Provider.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms Y moved into the Home in August 2021. Between then and January 2022, she had five falls. Mr X complained to the Care Provider that the Home had not taken appropriate steps to assure her safety by installing bedrails or crashmats.
In the Care Provider’s complaint response, it confirmed it had spoken to Ms Y about the use of bedrails, but she declined. The Care Provider confirmed she had capacity to make that decision. It said it considered the use of crashmats but decided these were a potential trip hazard. It said it reviewed Ms Y’s risk assessment after each fall. In December, following three falls in short succession, it held a best interests meeting with Ms Y and her family where Ms Y agreed to the use of crash mats.
We will not investigate this complaint further. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Care Home has responded to Ms Y’s falls to justify investigating. In addition, whilst the Ombudsman can investigate complaints on behalf of a deceased person, we cannot provide a remedy to the individual for injustice caused by the alleged fault. Therefore, even if we did investigate and find evidence of fault, we could not now provide a remedy for any injustice caused.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Care Home’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman