The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s review of Mrs X’s eligible care needs. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
The complaint
Mrs X complained that following a review of her eligible care needs, the Council reduced her care package.
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 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 continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Until recently Mrs X was receiving care package from the Council which included morning care visits to help her make a drink and feed her pet.
The care agency contracted by the Council contacted Mrs X to advise she did not use the care package she was receiving and this prompted the Council to carry out a review of her eligible care needs.
A social worker visited Mrs X several times to carry out the assessment and concluded that her morning visits should be reduced.
Mrs X complained to the Council about the decision to reduce her morning visits and the Council investigated Mrs X’s concerns. The Council advised that the social worker found Mrs X was not getting much benefit from the morning visits and her eligible care needs could be met at any time. The Council confirmed the care agency was no longer able to attend the early morning visits but advised that a further assessment could be carried out if necessary. The Council also advised that Mrs X could source further help from community resources and the original visits could be reinstated if she was unsuccessful.
Mrs X wants us to find the Council at fault. The evidence shows the Council carried out a satisfactory review of Mrs X’s needs which included Mrs X’s input and involvement. The Council has explained the rationale behind its decision to reduce Mrs X’s care visits and has offered a further assessment or to reinstate the original visits if her needs are not being met. These were reasonable actions of the Council to take. An investigation would therefore be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman