The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s responses to Mrs X’s complaints about care failings at her former place of work. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve anything worthwhile and there are more suitable agencies better addressed to deal with her complaints.
The complaint
Mrs X says the Council has failed to act on her complaints covering safeguarding, health and safety asbestos breaches, and financial abuse at her former workplace.
Mrs X says the Council only looked at one case and failed to share its records with her. Mrs X says she has faced retaliation and is now unemployed. She would like the Council to acknowledge her disclosures and provide an apology.
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 are other bodies better placed to consider this complaint, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 4, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X says she was dismissed by a care provider for raising care failings. And that the Council commissions services from the care provider and has failed to properly investigate her complaints.
The Council says it has progressed one safeguarding investigation arising from Mrs X’s concerns and there is an improvement plan in place. But it cannot share details with Mrs X for data protection reasons.
We will not investigate. This is because this complaint is inextricably linked to Mrs X’s underlying employment dispute with her former employer that we have no remit to consider. There are more suitable bodies to investigate the specific concerns Mrs X has raised such as the Health and Safety Commission and the Care Quality Commission. Further investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve anything worthwhile.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there we are unlikely to achieve anything worthwhile and there are more suitable bodies better placed to deal with her concerns.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman