Ms A complained that she was not able to visit her sister, who is in her 90s and lives with dementia, inside the Care Home where her sister is a resident. This followed a video call with her niece, which Ms A thought was taking place in a private area of the Care Home, when Ms A had sworn and commented about a complaint she had made to the Care Home. Ms A referred to the difficulties of maintaining contact with her sister if her sister was not able to go out in poor weather.
The Council was approached in its commissioning role as it was funding the sister’s placement. The Council agreed to the Ombudsman’s early settlement which included negotiating a mediation settlement that allowed Ms A to visit her sister in the Care Home. In addition, the Council’s Contract Team Manager was to liaise and work jointly with his counterpart in the local authority where the Care Home was based and the Care Home, to develop a policy around virtual contact where a visitor faced being banned from the Care Home that would include a proportionate prior warning system and appeal process. A measure to address the Council’s contract monitoring oversight also formed part of the settlement.