Mrs X complained about the Council’s management of the care arrangements and a lack of provision for her grand daughter who was currently in her care.
On considering the complaint, the Ombudsman noted that the Council had failed to deal with Mrs X’s concerns (set out in a letter to the Director of Social Services) in accordance with the correct complaints process and had responded to them as a corporate complaint. He accordingly contacted the Council to ask that it take the following actions:
Within one month
(a) To provide a written apology to Mrs X for not addressing her complaints under the Social Services Complaints Procedure (Wales) Regulations (“the Regulations”) in the first instance, and for failing to advise her of her statutory right to progress her concerns to the Independent Stage 2 Investigation under the Regulations.
(b) To offer Mrs X redress in the sum of £125 for her time and trouble in pursuing her concerns with the Council , and his office, and for the resulting delay in being able to pursue her concerns under the Regulations.
(c) To appoint an Independent Investigator to progress her concerns under Stage 2 of the Regulations.
(d) To provide his office with a copy of the Stage 2 investigation report within one month of its completion.
The Ombudsman considered this to be an appropriate resolution to the complaint instead of conducting an investigation.