The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to move Mr Y into an alternative care home. That is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify investigating.
The complaint
Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision not to move her father, Mr Y to an alternative care home. She said the Council had taken instructions from her siblings on the issue, despite them having only sporadic contact with Mr Y.
She wants the Council to stop her siblings having contact with Mr Y. She also wants the Council to move Mr Y to an alternative care home.
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 there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr Y has Alzheimer’s and experiences confusion. He has been in his current residential placement since December 2021. Following a request from Mrs X to move Mr Y to a different care home, the Council completed a best interest decision to decide whether Mr X should move.
The case records show the Council spoke to Mr Y, the care home and considered the reasons why Mrs X wanted Mr Y to change placement. The Council decided: the existing care home was meeting his care needs; Mr Y appeared happy and settled and there was no indication he wanted to move; that a move might unsettle him; and even if moved, the family might remain dissatisfied with an alternative care home. It felt the concerns raised by Mrs X could be rectified by speaking to the existing care home.
Although Mrs X is unhappy with the Council’s decision, there is insufficient evidence of fault in how it was made to justify investigation. The Council has considered Mrs X’s request and set out its reasons for not supporting it. If Mrs X remains dissatisfied with the Council’s decision, she can challenge this through the Court of Protection.
In the Council’s complaint response to Mrs X it explained it had no concerns with Mr Y maintaining a relationship with his other children. It said there was no evidence that Adult Social Care should prevent that from happening. We will not investigate this complaint as there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify investigating.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman