The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr A has complained about a care agency and a Council after an investigation by the care agency into a pill found by carers at Ms B’s house. He said the investigation was inadequate and resulted in the care agency withdrawing care to Ms B. We did not investigate this case as we could not achieve more than what has already been achieved by the care agency’s investigation.
The complaint
Mr A has complained about the investigation carried out by Creative Support Limited care agency (the Agency) and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (the Council) after a pill was found at Ms B’s home when she was being cared for by the Agency.
Ms B’s care was funded by the Council and the NHS and she had carers from the Agency coming in regularly to support her in her home with daily living tasks.
Mr A said the Agency should have had the pill tested to see if it was illegal drugs and it should have informed the police instead of just taking it to a pharmacy and then disposing of it.
Mr A said because of the complaint the Agency withdrew care to Ms B and his mother, Mrs C had to leave the Agency who she had previously been working for.
As a result of this complaint Mr A is unsure what he wants, but he would like for the case to be investigated as he is dissatisfied with the Agency and Council’s responses to his complaint.
The Ombudsmen’s role and powers The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and Health Service Ombudsman have the power to jointly consider complaints about health and social care. (Local Government Act 1974, section 33ZA, as amended, and Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 18ZA).
We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe: it is unlikely we would find fault, or the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the bodies, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
(Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 3(2) and Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
When assessing this case, I considered information from the Council and the Agency. I also considered the information Mr A provided in a telephone call and over email.
Mr A had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision, before I made this final decision.
My assessment
In September 2023 a carer found a blue pill on the floor at Ms A’s home. The carer informed the Agency.
The Agency carried out an investigation which included taking statements from the staff involved, and it said it took the pill to a pharmacy who could not identify it. The Agency also said it spoke to the Council who said a safeguarding inquiry was not necessary.
The Agency completed its investigation and when Mr A raised his concerns it responded to his complaint in January 2024. Mr A then raised the matter with the Council which said it was satisfied with the Agency’s actions.
The Agency’s record of the investigation states that it interviewed all the carers who could have possibly been at Ms A’s home when the pill was dropped.
None of the carers said the pill belonged to them. The Agency then said it took the pill to the pharmacy who could not identify it.
The Agency said it spoke to a social worker about the incident, and although this is not recorded, the Council also stated this conversation took place.
The Agency reminded staff of the importance of taking responsibility for any personal medication. It also said staff should carry out regular health and safety checks and update a risk assessment.
The Agency withdrew its care to Ms B in February 2024 and Mrs C resigned from her position at the Agency.
There is evidence the Agency carried out a robust investigation in interviewing staff and trying to identify what the pill was. It also carried out appropriate action in carrying out health and safety checks and updating the risk assessment.
Although it was an option to ask a pharmacy or the police to test the pill, this may have been a disproportionate response as there was no evidence that Ms B had taken the medication or suffered any harm.
Furthermore, at this stage the Ombudsmen could not add anything further to the investigation as the pill has now been disposed of.
For these reasons we will not investigate the complaint and we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council in it being satisfied with the Agency’s investigation.
Final decision
We did not investigate this complaint. This is because the Agency appears to have carried out a satisfactory investigation and the Ombudsman would not achieve anything further for Mr A.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsmen
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman