The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the poor care her late father, Mr Y, received at the Care Home. This is because the complaint is late.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Care Home provided poor care to her late father, Mr Y. She said the matter caused her distress. She wants the Care Provider to provide her with a financial remedy.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Care Provider.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X’s father, Mr Y, was a resident at the Care Home from 2021 until 2024 when he died.
Mrs X complained the Care Home: failed to properly support her in relation to completing applications for her father’s benefits in November 2023; made errors in her father’s NHS funding application which it submitted in mid-2024; completed a care plan with Mr Y in May 2024. Mrs X said at the time, her father did not have the mental capacity to make decisions about his care. She also said the Care Home failed to involve her as her father’s attorney in health and welfare in completing the care plan; delayed taking appropriate action when her father became acutely unwell in August 2024; and failed to provide the paramedics with accurate and complete information about her father’s health.
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because the matters Mrs X complains of happened more than 12 months ago which is late and so paragraph two of this statement applies. We expect people to complain to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter complained of. There are also no good reasons why Mrs X did not complain to us sooner.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons why she did not complain to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman