The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the care that the complainants late mother in law received in 2018. This is because the events happened too long ago, and I see no reason why the complaint could not have been made sooner.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains about the care that his late mother in law received in a care home, prior to her death. I will refer to Mr X’s mother in law as Ms Z. Mr X says the care home that the Ms Z was staying in failed to safeguard her.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms Z was in a care home until December 2018, when she was admitted to hospital after a fall. She passed away in January 2019. Mr X subsequently contacted the Council who started a safeguarding adults enquiry. The Council completed its enquiry in January 2020, and informed Mr X of the outcome.
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the events happened too long ago, and I see no reason why the complaint could not have been raised sooner, either when Ms Z passed away or in January 2020, when the Council concluded its safeguarding enquiries.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late, and I see no good reason to exercise discretion and investigate it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman