The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint as the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Miss X by the faults accepted.
The complaint
Miss X complains about the care provider’s handling of her father’s end of life care. She says the care provider delayed in administering prescribed medication to her father which meant he died he pain.
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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), 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
The care provider considered and responded to Miss X’s complaint. It accepted it should have been more proactive with the administration of the medication to Miss X’s father and that its handling did cause delays with the medication being administered. The care provider also accepted it was inappropriate to have asked Miss X and her family to collect her father’s medication.
If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we would find fault. This is because the fault has already been acknowledged and accepted by the care provider. We are of the view the accepted fault would have caused Miss X and her family significant distress.
Therefore, we asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by the faults accepted by making a financial payment of £500.
Agreed action
To its credit, the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint and agreed to complete the above recommendation within four weeks of the date of the final decision statement.
Final decision
We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Miss X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman