Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about her son’s carers falling asleep during their night calls and about the Council’s handling of her complaint. This is because an investigation would not lead to any further worthwhile outcomes.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about her son’s carers falling asleep during their night calls and about the Council’s handling of her complaint.

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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 an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (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 and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X’s son, Mr F, requires care through the night to ensure his safety. Miss X complained about several incidents where she found Mr F’s carers asleep during their night shifts.
6. In its complaint response, the care provider acknowledged the incidents where the carers were found to be asleep, accepted care did fall below what was required, and recognised the risk this put Mr F in. The care provider set out its action plan to prevent it from reoccurring, including:
• Retraining more staff.
• Ensuring carers were properly rotated, giving each carer enough time off to reduce fatigue/
• Regular meetings with the carers to discuss any concerns or difficulties they might be having.
• Regular training to keep carers updated on the necessary skills for the task involved in the care plan.
7. In response to our enquiries, the Council said no further concerns have been raised regarding carers falling asleep since the original complaint was made. This suggests the action plan put in place by the care provider has been successful.
8. Therefore, an investigation is not justified as it would not lead to any further worthwhile outcomes. In addition, as we are not investigating the substantive complaint issues, we will not investigate the concerns about the Council’s complaint handling.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because an investigation would not lead to any further worthwhile outcomes.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman