Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a social worker being inadequately trained. We cannot achieve the outcome the complainant seeks, and Social Work England is best placed to consider the matter.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the social worker assigned to her father (Mr Y) was not appropriately trained and experienced. She says their decision to return Mr Y home after a hospital admission led to Mr Y’s death after two weeks. Mrs X wants the social worker to be prevented from working in adult social care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X complains about the social worker’s inexperience when making a decision about her father’s best interests following a hospital admission. The Council, in its complaint response to other family members, accepted the social worker in question was inexperienced in adult social care and that this had impacted the progress of Mr Y’s case.
6. The Council set out the steps it has taken to further train and monitor the social worker since these events, and gave an effective apology to the family members who had complained.
7. If we investigated this complaint, we could never say the social worker’s actions caused Mr Y’s death, as Mrs X believes. In addition, the outcome Mrs X seeks from complaining to the Ombudsman is for the social worker in question to be prevented from working on adult social care cases. This is an outcome we could not achieve. We do not have the power to make personnel decisions, nor can we take regulatory action against social workers.
8. Social Work England is the specialist regulator for social workers, and is best placed to consider concerns about the practices of individual social workers. Only Social Work England has the power to place restrictions on social workers’ practice, as Mrs X seeks from complaining.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we could not achieve the outcome she seeks, and Social Work England is best placed to consider the matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman