Ms X complained that Cardiff Council refused to escalate her complaint in relation to the care services provided to her mother to stage 2 of its procedure.
The Ombudsman found that the Council were unable to progress the complaint due to the lack of consent from Ms X’s mother. The Council failed to recognise the vulnerabilities of Ms X’s mother to engage meaningfully in its complaints procedure. The Ombudsman said this caused frustration to Ms X. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to, within 1 week, acknowledge Ms X as a representative to act on behalf of her mother and progress Ms X’s complaint to stage 2 in line with its complaints procedure.