Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s safeguarding enquiry after Mrs X passed away following an incident in a care home. There is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to properly investigate an incident involving a care provider. He said his wife, Mrs X, passed away due to injuries she sustained during the incident. He said the matter has caused him significant distress. He wanted a proper investigation, and service improvements put in place.

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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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• 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. Mr X’s complaint is about the Council’s safeguarding enquiry. The enquiry took place after Mrs X had died. Given this, any fault in the Council’s actions did not cause Mrs X’s death and the related distress Mr X experienced.
6. The Council has explained why it was satisfied by the information it received from the care provider that it had a good understanding of what happened during the incident. The Council decided the incident was an unfortunate accident. It found Mrs X was at high risk of falls, and this risk remained even when properly supervised by carers. The Council decided there were no further routes of enquiry, and it was entitled to decide this based on the information available to it.
7. It is unlikely that further investigation by the Ombudsman would lead to a different outcome, as there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council came to its decision. Mr X has made a separate complaint to us about the care provider, which we will consider in its own right.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman