The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the standard of care Mr X has received. This is because the Council has conducted a satisfactory investigation and taken action to address Mr X’s concerns. An investigation would therefore be unlikely to result in a different outcome.
The complaint
Mr X raised several concerns about the standard of care he is receiving from Council commissioned carers.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 continue 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, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained to the Council about the standard of care he was receiving from carers commissioned by the Council. He raised several concerns including carers failing to complete accurate records, attending scheduled visits late and serving him cold food.
The Council investigated by reviewing Mr X’s care plan, medical records and speaking to the carer involved. The Council did not uphold most of Mr X’s complaint but found fault in a carer’s administration of his medication. The Council arranged a review of Mr X’s care plan, visited Mr X to discuss his care needs, changed its guidelines to make records more accurate and advised that it would contact Mr X if a carer was going to be late. Mr X was unhappy with the Council’s response as he wanted the carer involved to have their employment terminated, so he brought his complaint to the Ombudsman.
The evidence shows the Council has taken Mr X’s complaint seriously and conducted a full and thorough investigation into the issues he has raised. The Council has also made several recommendations to ensure that Mr X’s standard of care is consistent and in line with his care plan. These were reasonable actions for the Council to take. An investigation into this matter would be unlikely to result in a different outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to result in a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman