The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council not providing him with the care and support he requires. This is because we would not be able to achieve anything more with a further investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council failed to provide him with appropriate care to support his incontinence needs. He said it negatively affected his mental health. He also complained the care workers did not respect his dignity. He wants the Council to provide him with care which supports his needs.
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: we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(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
The Council said Mr X had a package of care in place and it was carrying out a further assessment of Mr X’s care and support needs to determine the level of care he required. It said it offered to also complete an occupational therapy assessment as well as an assessment for his incontinence needs. It said it was working with his social worker and the Mental Health Team to also determine his care and support needs.
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has taken appropriate action to ensure it provides Mr X with the appropriate care and support needs he requires. This was appropriate. We would not be able to achieve anything more with a further investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we would not be able to achieve anything more with a further investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman