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Bristol City Council (22 016 097)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Transport 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful application for a Blue Badge. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
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Kent County Council (22 015 960)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Assessment and care plan 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to fund an additional day of care services for Mr X’s daughter, Ms Y. This is because we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
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London Borough of Haringey (22 014 941)
Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about defects to the complainants home following work paid for by a disabled facilities grant. We are satisfied with the actions the Council has agreed to take.
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Kent County Council (22 015 605)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Assessment and care plan 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to pay Mr B’s wife’s Care Provider a fee increase. This is because the actions taken by the Council have not caused Mr or Mrs B a significant enough injustice to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.
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Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (22 010 680)
Statement Upheld Residential care 28-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms B complained the Council did not help to facilitate a move for her mother, Mrs C, from a residential care home back to her family home. We find the Council at fault for failing to ensure Mrs C’s stay at the care home was subject to authorisation under the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards. There were also failings in its communications; in some of the care Mrs C received at the care home and in its complaint handling. These faults caused Ms B distress. The Council accepts these findings. At the end of this statement, we set out action it has agreed to take remedy that injustice and improve its services.
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Leicestershire County Council (21 007 131)
Statement Not upheld Other 28-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr G complained about the failure of the Council, the NHS Trust and the Integrated Care Board to meet his daughter’s health and social care needs when she was discharged from hospital in
July 2020. We decided to end our investigation to allow separate legal proceedings to conclude.
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Leicester City Council (21 010 191)
Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 28-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr G complained about the Council’s delay in telling a County Council it was responsible for his daughter’s aftercare needs. He also complained about a dispute between the two councils which meant his needs as a carer were not assessed. We found fault by the Council as it did not take responsibility for completing a carer’s assessment with Mr G. The Council has agreed to our recommendations and will apologise to Mr G, complete an assessment if necessary and remind its officers of good practice relating to requests for carer’s assessment.
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Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (22 016 635)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Domiciliary care 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s actions regarding his late mother, Mrs C. This is because further investigation could not make a different finding to that already provided to Mr B by the Council.
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Lancashire County Council (22 016 797)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult safeguarding because it is unlikely further investigation would lead to a different outcome. The Council produced an action plan following a safeguarding enquiry, which will reduce any risk to residents of a residential care home.
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Leicestershire County Council (22 015 917)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to inform Mrs C the cost of paying for her care. This is because further investigation could not add to the Council’s responses or make a different finding of the kind Mrs D wants.
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Manchester City Council (22 010 762)
Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 27-Mar-2023
Summary: There was fault as the Council delayed carrying out a CHC checklist and delayed providing appropriate information to Mr B regarding expenditure at his brother’s supported housing placement. This meant that the financial assessment of Mr B’s brother may not be accurate. The Council has agreed to apologise, to pay a financial remedy and to carry out a revised financial assessment and backdate any refund to 1 January 2022.
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Wiltshire Council (22 009 086)
Statement Upheld Other 27-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to consider his mother’s religious needs when it arranged her care, causing distress. The Council was at fault causing injustice to Mr X and his mother. It has agreed to apologise, carry out a fresh assessment and make service improvements to prevent reoccurrence of the fault. Mr X also complained that the Council had wrongly made best interests decisions regarding his mother’s care without consulting him and said the Council made unfounded assumptions that his father had been abusing his mother. The evidence does not support this and on these matters we do not find fault with the Council.
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Leicestershire County Council (22 006 156)
Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 27-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr B complained about care agencies and says they stopped providing care to him because he complained about them. He said the Council did not address this properly. We have not found fault with the way the agencies provided support or ended the support but there was a service failure during two months as one of the agencies was not able to provide a service during the afternoon. The Council has agreed to provide an apology and a financial remedy.
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London Borough of Brent (21 019 081)
Statement Upheld Other 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We investigated a complaint about arranging care for Mr Y after he left hospital. We found fault with the Council; there were unexplained delays when it was searching for a nursing home placement for Mr Y in November 2021. The Council also did not investigate Dr X’s complaint in line with guidance and provided responses which were unclear, contradictory and did not take account of all the facts. Dr X was caused unnecessary frustration when dealing with the Council. We recommended an apology, service improvements and a financial remedy to address this injustice. We found no fault with the actions of the Trust or the ICB.
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Staffordshire County Council (22 016 702)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s pursuit of the full cost of Mr Y’s late father’s care fees. There was some fault by the Council in the financial assessment process and in not obtaining a written agreement for Mr Y’s care placement. But there is not enough evidence of Council fault leading to the injustices claimed to warrant us investigating.
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PSS (UK) (22 017 619)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the service provided by PSS. This is because it is not an adult social care provider within our remit.
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Durham County Council (22 016 268)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of a care provider when the complainant’s mother became seriously unwell at her care home, because we could not add anything to the Council’s previous investigation. We will also not consider her complaint about the refusal of access to data, as it is a matter for the Information Commissioner’s Office.
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Bath and North East Somerset Council (22 016 344)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how Mrs x was treated by the Council during its decision to end direct payments. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for us to exercise discretion to consider the late complaint.
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Methodist Homes (22 016 358)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the care provided to Mrs Y before her death in 2021. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
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Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (22 015 393)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of the complainant’s friend’s support needs. This is because the complainant has no authority to bring the complaint on his friend’s behalf.
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Larchwood Care Homes (South) Limited (22 010 795)
Statement Upheld Residential care 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs D complains on behalf of her late mother that there was inadequate care at Stambridge Meadows Care Home, operated by Larchwood Care. We found that some of the care provider’s actions caused injustice to Mrs D. The care provider has agreed to apologise and pay Mrs D £200 and provide training to staff on record-keeping.
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North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (22 009 195)
Statement Upheld Residential care 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs X complains about the care given to her Mum, Ms Y, at Appleby Court Care Home. We find fault with the Home causing distress and frustration to Mrs X. We have made recommendations to the Council to remedy the injustice caused.
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Care UK Community Partnerships Limited (22 010 532)
Statement Upheld Residential care 26-Mar-2023
Summary: The care provider has acknowledged that Mrs Y’s care was not always to the required standard. It promised to update training. I have also found that the care provider did not handle her son’s complaint to it properly. I have recommended it take further action to remedy the complaint.
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West Sussex County Council (22 011 273)
Statement Upheld Charging 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained that the Council would not allow Miss Y’s horse riding costs against her contribution to her care and support charges. He says she needs this activity and the Council did not consider all the information. Paying for this means she cannot afford to take short breaks when she needs them. We recommended the Council consider the information it did not consider previously. It has agreed to do this.
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Shropshire Council (22 002 147)
Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Miss X complained about the way the Council assessed and met her needs and enabled her to access its systems. She says this caused her significant stress and anxiety. We find the Council was at fault in the way it assessed and met some of her needs. It offered to reimburse Miss X £1600 for some equipment she had paid for herself and to arrange for a financial officer to visit and help with her financial assessment. We recommended it also ensures staff are adequately trained in autism and that Miss X is supported to access its systems as far as possible. It agreed to do this. We also recommended it complete a fresh assessment of her needs with a specialist autism trained social worker and its sensory visual impairment team. The Council also agreed to this.
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Elmfield Care Limited (22 016 539)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about delay by his late mother Ms Y’s care provider in contacting the family about an injury she sustained at the care home, or how it investigated and reported on the incident. There is not enough significant injustice to Ms Y’s family from the delay in contacting the family to warrant investigation. Ombudsman investigation of the incident and how the care provider dealt with it would not add to that investigation, nor achieve a different outcome for the family.
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Your Hope Care Limited (21 017 869)
Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 24-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms C complains about services provided to her late mother. There is fault in the Care Provider’s recording procedures which has caused uncertainty about what services it was providing and whether its practices were safe. It also failed to respond to Ms C’s complaint properly. The Care Provider has agreed to apologise to Ms C and her father, make a payment to acknowledge the impact of the failures, reminds staff about recording contemporaneous notes, updating care plans, completing risk assessments and reviews how it deals with complaints.
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Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (22 008 897)
Statement Not upheld Charging 24-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs X complained about the way the Council charged Mr Y for his care and about the quality of the care it provided. She said this caused stress and anxiety to them both as they had no say about the home he moved to, the poor standard of care and the financial pressure it caused. We find no fault in the Council’s actions.
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Durham County Council (22 016 440)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Disabled facilities grants 24-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about building work carried out after she qualified for a disabled facilities grant. This is because the events complained about took place more than 12 months ago and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate events that took place this long ago.
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Leicestershire County Council (22 017 602)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Safeguarding 24-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s lack of response to Mrs X’s concerns about an attorney. This is because there is a more suitable agency to best address Mrs X’s concerns first so there is no fault by the Council.
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Isle of Wight Council (22 016 071)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaints about how the Council spends money on Adult Social Care, or that a Care Provider failed to meet adult care needs. That is because other bodies are best placed to deal with these complaints.
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Surrey County Council (22 014 808)
Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 23-Mar-2023
Summary: The Council failed to assess Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards requests in accordance with the timescales set out in the Mental Capacity Act regulations. People may have been restricted unnecessarily or wrongly deprived of their liberty. The Council has agreed our recommendation to address the delays.
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Castle Care Teesdale Limited (22 015 741)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Domiciliary care 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence to support the care worker was rude, so we cannot achieve the apology Mr B wants. The short notice to end the service has not caused a significant injustice.
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Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited (22 015 788)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about quality of care during a respite stay in a care home. There is not a good reason for the delay in the complaint being brought to the Ombudsman.
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London Borough of Lambeth (22 003 758)
Statement Not upheld Safeguarding 23-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr C complains about the Council’s safeguarding enquiry. We have not found fault with the way the Council carried out the safeguarding enquiry or the measures it put in place to support Mr C. There was some miscommunication at the beginning of the enquiry, but Mr C has not suffered any real injustice because of this.
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L&J James Investments Ltd (22 013 258)
Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 23-Mar-2023
Summary: The Care Provider failed to adhere to a contractual agreement when terminating domiciliary care services
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Sunshine Care Group Ltd (22 016 410)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the actions of two of the care provider’s employees because it lies outside our jurisdiction. This is because the complaint is about private matters and not about the actions of the care provider in connection with the provision of adult social care.
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Durham County Council (22 016 042)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 22-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint, made on behalf of Mr Y, about the Council not advising Mr Y of the date on which his care placement would become chargeable. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council on the matter to warrant us investigating.
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Wokingham Borough Council (22 015 826)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Residential care 22-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council placing Mrs B’s late mother, Mrs C in a care home which did not meet the fundamental standards of the Care Quality Commission. This is because we could not add to the Council’s response or make a different finding of the kind Mrs B wants.
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Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (22 015 103)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 22-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not providing adequate funding to meet Mrs X’s assessed care needs. This is because an investigation would not lead to any different findings or worthwhile outcomes.
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Bath and North East Somerset Council (22 009 364)
Statement Upheld Charging 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs C says the Council failed to properly consider her disability related expenditure and failed to allow a disability addition to her minimum income guarantee. The Council failed to consider some items put forward by Mrs C as disability related expenditure properly. There is no fault in how the Council considered the minimum income guarantee. An apology, payment to Mrs C, consideration of various items to decide whether they are disability related expenditure and training for officers is satisfactory remedy.
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Babergh District Council (22 000 016)
Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s delay in progressing an application for a disabled facilities grant and he says the Council is ignoring his wishes and needs. We have found delay at two stages of the process and lack of communication during one stage of the process. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr B and pay him a financial remedy.
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London Borough of Enfield (22 000 183)
Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s actions in relation to his mother, Mrs B’s, care and support needs. There was no fault in how the Council decided Mrs B’s personal budget. However, the Council was at fault for delaying assessing Mrs B’s care and support needs during Covid-19 when she was unable to attend her placement at a day care centre. The Council has already apologised to Mr X for its delay and made a payment to reflect the additional support which was delivered to Mrs B during this time. However, we also found the Council poorly communicated with Mr X regarding Mrs B’s personal budget payments when the day care centre was closed. The Council has agreed to make an additional payment to reflect this.
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London Borough of Bromley (22 001 435)
Statement Not upheld Assessment and care plan 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Miss A complained her assigned care coordinator at the Trust failed to arrange changes to her flat and failed to arrange suitable treatment for her. We found no fault with the Trust’s actions. Arranging repairs to Miss A’s property was not the Trust’s responsibility and the treatment unit was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Brighton & Hove City Council (22 011 631)
Statement Upheld Safeguarding 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Miss Y complained about how the Council met her late mother, Mrs X’s care needs. The Council was at fault for not acting on a swelling it observed on Mrs X’s ankle, delay in reviewing her care and support needs and delay in carrying out a safeguarding investigation. It was also at fault for the failure of Mrs X’s personal alarm. The Council will apologise to Miss Y and pay her £200 in recognition of the distress, uncertainty and frustration these faults caused her.
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London Borough of Haringey (22 011 688)
Statement Not upheld Direct payments 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complains the Council was at fault in the way it calculated and advised him of his assessed contribution towards his Direct Payment care package and took recovery action against him for non-payment. We have found no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered these matters. So, we have completed our investigation.
