The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint the Council did not complete an adult social care assessment. The Council has agreed to complete an assessment. That is a proportionate remedy for any injustice caused.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council would not complete an adult social care assessment after he asked for support. He said the Council had directed him to the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) for an assessment, despite him telling the Council the CMHT had refused to assess him. Mr X wants the Council to provide support.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
If we were to investigate Mr X’s complaint, it is likely we would find fault causing injustice. That is because the Council directed Mr X back to the CMHT despite knowing the CMHT had refused to assess him. Although the Council can ask the CMHT to complete assessments on its behalf, the statutory responsibility for completing the adult social care assessment sits with the Council. Therefore, we would expect the Council to complete that assessment if the CMHT could not.
We therefore asked the Council to arrange an adult social care assessment for Mr X. To its credit, the Council agreed. That provides a proportionate remedy for any injustice caused to Mr X.
Final decision
We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by completing arranging an adult social care assessment of Mr X’s needs.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman