The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to notify Mr X about a care assessment carried out several years ago. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to result in a worthwhile outcome.
The complaint
Mr X complained that he did not become aware that the Council had carried out a review of his care needs in April 2022 until recently.
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: any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained to the Council after he became aware that it had carried out a review of his care and support package in April 2022.
The Council investigated and found that the social worker appointed to Mr X at the time spoke with Mr X several times regarding his care needs and included this information in the review and the final care plan which was produced in December 2022.
The Council apologised for the fact that Mr X had not been aware a review was being carried out and that he did not receive a copy of the final care plan. The Council could not provide further information as the social worker who carried out the review no longer worked for the Council. Mr X opted to bring his complaint to the Ombudsman as he was unhappy with the Council’s response.
It is not possible to determine whether Mr X was informed that the review was taking place as due to the length of time that has passed and the fact that the social worker involved is no longer a Council employee, this information is not available. There is also no evidence that this matter has caused Mr X a significant injustice. An investigation into this matter would be unlikely to result in a worthwhile outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to result in a worthwhile outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman