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Pine View Care Homes Ltd (22 000 034)
Report Upheld Residential care 27-Apr-2023
Summary: Pine View Care Homes Ltd failed to act on Ombudsman’s recommendations
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Ideal Carehomes (Number One) Limited (22 002 242)
Statement Upheld Residential care 14-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained the Care Home breached care standards and the Equality Act in the way it handled incidents of sexual contact between his father-in-law and two female residents. We found fault in some lack of care provision, use of inaccurate language in the care plan, and failure to consult the family when amending the care plan, which caused some injustice. The Care Home agreed to apologise and make payment to acknowledge the distress this caused Mr L and Mr X. There was no other fault on the matters complained about.
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Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited (22 015 847)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 14-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an increase in adult social care fees because there is no injustice given the Care Provider reduced the increase to the minimum contractual amount. We could not add to the Care Provider’s own investigation nor reach a different outcome.
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Sutton Coldfield Care Limited (22 015 993)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 14-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about care provided to Mrs B’s late husband. This is because further investigation by us could not provide Mrs B with a different outcome to that she has received from the Care Provider.
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Nottinghamshire County Council (22 015 399)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 14-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about care charges for Mr X’s late father. There is not a good reason Mr X did not complain to us sooner.
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Essex County Council (22 003 284)
Statement Upheld Residential care 14-Mar-2023
Summary: The late Mrs M’s family complained to us about her care by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust and Godden Lodge Care Home. We have upheld parts of the complaint relating to record keeping, admission to the Home, nutrition, risk management and communication. We have not upheld other parts of the complaint. The Council, Home and Trust have accepted our recommendations so we have completed our investigation.
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Portsmouth City Council (22 006 484)
Statement Upheld Charging 14-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs X complained about her mother, Mrs Y’s, home care arranged by the Council. There was fault both by a care provider acting on behalf of the Council when it failed to tell the Council Mrs Y had gone into hospital and by the Council in how it investigated Mrs X’s complaint. This caused avoidable distress to Mrs Y and avoidable distress, inconvenience, time and trouble to Mrs X for which the Council agreed to pay financial remedies. It also agreed to clarify with its care providers its expectations when a service user is admitted to hospital.
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Lancashire County Council (22 011 116)
Statement Upheld Charging 13-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs X complains that the Council failed to notify her and Mrs Y that the funding for Mrs Y’s care home place had ended and failed to complete a Continuing Healthcare assessment. The Council is not at fault for not informing Mrs X and Mrs Y that the funding for Mrs Y’s care home place had ended in April 2021. The Council is at fault for not returning Mrs X’s call about a Continuing Healthcare assessment and for delaying in dealing with her complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X for the avoidable time and trouble caused by the delay in dealing with her complaint.
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Cornwall Council (22 015 831)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 13-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to apply a discretionary disregard to Mr B’s grandfather’s, Mr C’s property. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault with the actions taken by the Council, and it is unlikely further investigation by us would lead to a different outcome to that already provided to Mr B by the Council. Mr B can challenge any dispute about the value of Mr C’s asset in court and it would be reasonable for him to do so.
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Our Rock Limited (22 015 886)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Domiciliary care 13-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Care Provider not paying rent. The matter is best considered by the courts.
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Staffordshire County Council (22 015 154)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 13-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an adult safeguarding investigation, because it is unlikely we would find fault or reach a different outcome.
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Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (22 003 510)
Statement Upheld Transition from childrens services 13-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained on behalf of his former foster child Mr C. He said the Council had failed to carry out a proper assessment of Mr C under the Mental Capacity Act. He said it also failed to follow statutory guidelines when finalising Mr C’s Education, Health and Social Care Plan or consider the views of Mr C’s family. We find fault with the Council for failing to adhere to the statutory time limits when finalising Mr C’s Education, Health, and Care Plan. It failed to complete a Mental Capacity Assessment with Mr C about his education placement after September 2021. We also find fault with the Council for failing to respond to Mr X’s complaint within its prescribed time limits. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused.
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Sunderland City Council (22 005 590)
Statement Upheld Residential care 13-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms X complained about poor care provided to her mother, Mrs Y, whilst at two Council-commissioned care homes between March and May 2022. She says the poor care caused her and her mother distress and contributed to her mother’s death. There was fault in one care home’s record keeping and in how the Council handled Ms X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X for the frustration and uncertainty caused and act to improve its services.
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Derbyshire County Council (22 007 057)
Statement Upheld Residential care 13-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of her concerns about the quality of care her late mother received in a care home. Mrs X has no confidence in the Council’s safeguarding enquiries into the care home’s actions or that it has implemented any meaningful improvements to the care home’s practices. I have found no fault in the way the Council carried out the safeguarding investigation. However, for the issues proven we recommend several service improvements. We find the care home acting on behalf of the Council was at fault for failing to follow its policy regarding privacy and dignity and keeping an inventory of personal items. We also find fault with the way the Council handled Mrs X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to make service improvements and a payment to Mrs X for the injustice caused.
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Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (22 000 976)
Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 10-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained about the way the Council dealt with his mother’s care and support following a stay in hospital. We found the Council at fault for delay in deciding a financial assessment and Disabled Facilities Grant application for Mr X’s mother. The Council agreed to apologise and to make a payment in recognition of the injustice caused. We did not find any evidence of fault by the Council in the other matters raised in the complaint.
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London Borough of Barnet (22 002 246)
Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 10-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained the Council breached an agreement by attempting to visit his property without notification or appointment and failed to put in place any support following a fall. There is no evidence the Council breached an agreement with Mr X when visiting his property. The Council failed to consider whether to provide emergency support following a fall but that is unlikely to have resulted in Mr X missing out on support. A reminder to officers is satisfactory remedy.
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Royal Borough of Greenwich (22 011 075)
Statement Upheld Charging 10-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs C complains about the domiciliary care provided to her father. Mrs C says her mother suffered avoidable distress and her father did not receive all the care due and she spent unnecessary time and trouble in pursuing the matter. We have ended our investigation as the Council’s proposed actions of cancelling the outstanding charges and symbolic payments for both distress and time and trouble provide a suitable remedy.
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Devon County Council (22 011 201)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 10-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a safeguarding meeting held by the Council. It is unlikely we would find fault.
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Navigation Care Limited (22 011 957)
Statement Upheld Residential care 10-Mar-2023
Summary: The care provider was wrong to charge some additional days’ fees after Mr X died. Once the room was cleared of Mr X’s possessions the care provider should have refurbished the room at its own expense as part of its ordinary business costs. The care provider should now reimburse the additional fees which were paid in advance.
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Leeds City Council (22 014 001)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 10-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about damage to his property when the police forced entry to his home after his fall pendant set off an alert and he could not be contacted. This is because the Council has already offered a suitable remedy for the claimed injustice by offering to pay for the damage to his door and inviting Mr X to provide evidence to support the other parts of his claim so its insurers can consider it.
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Burlington Care Limited (22 015 606)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 10-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care because there is no evidence of a significant injustice to warrant an investigation and it is unlikely investigation would lead to a different outcome.
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Peterborough City Council (22 016 339)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 10-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s sharing of Mr X’s personal information. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome requested and the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider.
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Leeds City Council (22 015 064)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 10-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the safeguarding of her late mother Mrs Y. We have already investigated the substantive matters that she complains of so this is an invalid complaint. It is reasonable for Ms X to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if she believes the Council has breached data protection legislation.
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Durham County Council (22 005 552)
Statement Upheld Charging 10-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained about a lack of guidance and information from the Council about the charges for his late mother’s care at a care home. The Council was at fault for the delay in providing information about care charges and in carrying out a financial assessment. This meant Mr X received a large and unexpected care bill and Mrs Y was unable to make an informed decision about her care. The Council has agreed to apologise and write off some of the care charges. It has also agreed to ensure financial information is provided to care home residents at the point of assessment.
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Cornwall Council (22 006 811)
Statement Upheld Charging 10-Mar-2023
Summary: There was delay in arranging Mrs X’s care and support and interpreting service which caused a loss of service and affected not only Mrs X, but also Mr X, her informal carer, by causing distress and a loss of opportunity to have a break. There was also fault in complaint handling and a failure to make reasonable adjustments. There was some fault in the consideration of Mrs X’s disability related expenses, but this did not cause a financial loss. The Council will apologise, make payments to Mr X and take action set out in this statement.
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Durham County Council (22 008 257)
Statement Upheld Charging 10-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs T complained the Council said her mother, Mrs X, would not have to pay for her stay in a care home. Mrs T stated the Council completed a financial assessment a year later and charged Mrs X retrospectively. Mrs T said the Council failed to consider if Mrs X could afford to pay the charges. The Council failed to conduct a financial assessment in line with the statutory guidance and failed to tell Mrs T about Mrs X’s contributions for eleven months. The Council agreed to write off the charges until the date of the financial assessment and apologise to Mrs T for the distress it caused.
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Surrey County Council (22 009 371)
Statement Upheld Residential care 10-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr C complained about the Council’s handling of his father’s respite and subsequent permanent care placements. We found fault in how the Council handled Mr X’s transition from respite into permanent care. There was no other fault, or significant injustice on other parts of the complaint. The Council should apologise and make payment to Mr C to acknowledge the distress and time and trouble its fault caused him.
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Salford City Council (22 010 675)
Statement Not upheld Other 09-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr B complained about the actions the Council took to manage his mother in law’s (Mrs C) finances when she lost the capacity to do so herself. We have not found fault with the Council.
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North Yorkshire County Council (22 011 460)
Statement Upheld Residential care 09-Mar-2023
Summary: There was fault in the late Mr X’s care because the Care Home did not have care plans for Mr X. however, there was no fault in the Care Home’s actions when Mr X’s health declined. Staff acted promptly by liaising with the GP, arranging a GP visit and contacting paramedics. The Council which funded the placement will apologise, make a symbolic payment and check the Care Home has up to date care plans in place for council-funded residents.
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London Borough of Harrow (22 014 349)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Transport 09-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Blue Badge and a data breach. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because the complainant could complain to the Information Commissioner.
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Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (22 015 510)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 09-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an adult safeguarding investigation, because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s investigation or reach a different outcome.
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Nottinghamshire County Council (22 014 881)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 09-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about what happened to the complainant’s insurance claim for missing jewellery in a care home. This is because it is reasonable for the complainant to take his claim to court.
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Kent County Council (22 015 114)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Domiciliary care 09-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failure to release the complainant’s father’s care notes. This is because the Council is not responsible for issues being raised.
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Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (22 015 057)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 09-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint alleging the Council has failed to safeguard the complainant’s relative. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of the Council acting with fault.
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Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited (22 009 105)
Statement Upheld Residential care 09-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained about the care Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited (the Care Provider) provided to Mr Y at the end of his life. He says this caused them both significant distress. We find the Care Provider was not at fault in most of the issues he complained about, but it did cause significant distress when Mr Y’s bed crashed down unintentionally. We recommended the Care Provider apologise, check all beds for similar risks, and put in place a strategy to avoid similar incidents in future. It agreed to do this.
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Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (22 009 307)
Statement Upheld Other 09-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X’s advocate complained the Council failed to provide Mr X with adequate support in line with his care and support plan and closed his case without informing him. The Council was at fault when it closed Mr X’s case then delayed providing support and failed to inform him when funding for counselling was secured. It has agreed to apologise and make a payment to acknowledge the uncertainty and frustration these faults caused Mr X and refer Mr X for counselling.
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Warwickshire County Council (21 008 501)
Statement Upheld Other 08-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr T complained about the decision to terminate his daughter’s, Miss C’s, placement in specialist residential accommodation commissioned by the Council and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) as part of her aftercare services. He also complained about the lack of mental health support for Miss C while in the placement. We did not find fault by the Council and the ICB for the mental health support offered or the decision to terminate the placement. However, the authorities failed to have a contingency plan in place and failed to provide move-on accommodation as aftercare. The faults caused avoidable distress to Miss C and her parents. They have also been left with quantifiable financial losses because of the faults. We made recommendations to remedy the injustice caused and improve services.
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Austin Ben Ltd (22 010 789)
Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 08-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs X complained that her mother, Mrs Y, contacted the care provider who arranged for someone to take her out into the community. Mrs X says Mrs Y was told this would be free of charge, but invoices were sent to her causing distress. We found the care provider failed to give Mrs Y written information about costs at the outset and failed to keep notes of telephone conversations. In recognition of the injustice caused the care provider has agreed to apologise to Mrs Y and make a payment to her.
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Avery Homes (Nelson) Limited (22 011 163)
Statement Not upheld Residential care 08-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs X complained the care home charged her fees for her mother’s care after she had died. She also complained about how it responded to her concerns about noise from another resident. We ended this investigation because the care home has agreed to waive its 14-day after death fee and further investigation is unlikely to achieve a different outcome or anything more for Mrs X.
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Hampshire County Council (22 014 089)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Assessment and care plan 08-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to consult with Mrs X’s mother’s family before placing her in a care home. This is because we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
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Kent County Council (22 015 496)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 08-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing to recalculate Mr B’s late grandmother’s care fees. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault with the actions taken by the Council to warrant an ombudsman investigation.
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Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (22 015 113)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 08-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council getting a deputyship for Miss X. We have no jurisdiction to investigate the commencement of court proceedings or what happened in court.
