The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the care provided by a Council-commissioned care provider. We could not add to the investigation carried out by the Council.
The complaint
Ms X complains about the quality of care provided by a Council-commissioned care provider. She said the visiting carers changed frequently and the timing of her visits were inconsistent which caused her distress. She has since changed to a new provider but says she wants the Council to apologise and return her stolen goods.
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.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In its complaint response, the Council acknowledged there had been a lack of carer consistency and that the timing of Ms X’s visits had also been inconsistent. It apologised to Ms X for this. It said Ms X had since changed to a new care provider.
In a subsequent email, Ms X told the Council the carers had stolen shoe covers from her. The Council responded to say she had not mentioned this in her initial complaint, but if she believed anything had been stolen, she should report it to the care agency and the Police, so they could investigate.
We will not investigate this complaint as we could not add to the Council’s investigation. The Council accepted there had been inconsistencies in the care provided and apologised to Ms X for this. Ms X has now moved to a new care provider. This is an appropriate response to her complaint. It is unlikely we could add to this investigation or achieve anything more.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we could not add to the investigation by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman