The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate the way Mr C’s Care Provider treated his sister Ms D. This is because the Care Provider’s actions have not caused Ms D a significant enough injustice to warrant an ombudsman investigation.
The complaint
Ms D complains about the way she has been treated by her late brother’s, Mr C’s, Care Provider. Ms D says she was not provided with information about Mr C when she requested it, she, her late mother, and other family members were not allowed to visit Mr C. Ms D says Mr C’s Care Provider made inflammatory remarks about her and she had to telephone funeral directors to find out where he was after he had died. Ms D says she wants an investigation into the way she has been treated by care staff.
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 effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Care Provider.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Care Provider apologised if a staff member had spoken inappropriately to Ms D. We will not investigate this point because we could not make a finding on the way people perceive remarks. We are satisfied Mr C had made it clear that he did not want contact from either Ms D or her mother so his Care Provider could not provide her with the information she wanted.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms D’s complaint because the Care Provider’s actions have not caused Ms D a significant enough injustice to warrant an ombudsman investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman