The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a road closure as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
The complaint
Mrs X complains that due to a road closure, an ambulance was unable to reach her mother’s home after she had suffered a stroke. Mrs X says her mother had to be pushed in a bed along the street to the ambulance. Mrs X says this should not have happened and that the experience has affected her deeply.
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 the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In its complaint response to Mrs X, the Council explained the road was temporarily closed due to work that was needed to the electricity network in the area. It said the road needed to be closed due to the size and weight of equipment being removed and installed. The Council advised that any issues with the contractors that were on site at the time would need to be addressed with their employer, a third-party company.
While I recognise that this experience was very likely traumatic for Mrs X, we will not investigate as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council. The Council is empowered to close roads and the information provided in its complaint response does not point to it having been at fault to have done so in this case. In the absence of evidence of fault, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman