The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complained the Council improperly charged him for a carer for his late wife, Mrs X and did not provide her with suitable equipment leaving her bed bound. I have ended the investigation because the complaint relates to events which took place more than 12 months ago and we cannot achieve a worthwhile outcome for Mr X.
The complaint
Mr X complained: the Council prevented him from taking his wife Mrs X outside and delayed providing her with the correct equipment she needed to move around; and the Council incorrectly charged him fees for Mrs X’s care.
He said the Council’s actions caused him distress and caused Mrs X to lose out on time socialising with her family.
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, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I made enquiries of the Council and considered the information it provided.
I wrote to the Council and Mr X with the details of the draft decision. I did not receive any comments before I wrote the final decision.
What I found
Law Sections 9 and 10 of the Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to carry out an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support.
The assessment must be of the adult’s needs and how they impact on their wellbeing and the results they want to achieve. It must also involve the individual and where suitable their carer or any other person they might want involved.
Once a council has arranged support to meet a person’s needs it must keep those arrangements under review. The review process is about making sure the support is working and, if not, what should change to help avoid any crisis situations.
What happened Mrs X was elderly and suffered with dementia. Mr X managed her healthcare needs. Mrs X became bedridden in 2019. The Council funded one carer for Mrs X and Mr X funded the other.
In May 2019, the Council began a needs assessment of Mrs X. An occupational therapist (OT) visited Mrs X to assess whether she needed a sling and specialist chair.
Mr X contacted the Council in June 2019 and said Mrs X also needed a wheelchair. The OT visited Mr X several days later and agreed to request specialist seating and a different hoist for Mrs X.
Mr X told the Council he was going to take Mrs X on a day trip. The OT expressed concern due to Mrs X’s condition and told him to wait until the assessment was finished.
The specialist chair arrived in mid July 2019. In September 2019 another OT visited Mrs X to assess her for a new hoist. The Council requested specialist equipment for the hoist in November 2019.
In March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic delayed arrangements to install the equipment. The Council installed the equipment in April 2020.
Mrs X died in June 2021.
Mr X remains unhappy the Council funded only one carer and delayed installing the equipment Mrs X needed. Mr X has complained about events which took place several years ago. The evidence seen so far does not indicate there is any fault on the Council’s part. Even if I were to find fault, it is unlikely I could achieve a worthwhile outcome for Mr X.
Final decision
I have ended the investigation. This is because we cannot achieve a worthwhile outcome for Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman