Services for older people: Caerphilly County Borough Council

Miss F complained that Caerphilly County Borough Council had failed to provide her with appropriate respite provision.

The Ombudsman found the Council had failed to escalate the complaint to the second stage of the statutory complaints procedure and had instead wrongly informed Miss F to contact the Ombudsman. She said that this caused delays and frustration for Miss F. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.

The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to apologise to Miss F, pay her redress of £100 and progress the stage two investigation by appointing an independent investigator within one month (dependent on the availability of investigating officers).