Mrs X complained that Cartrefi Conwy had delayed in carrying out an adaptation to the threshold of a door so that she could safely negotiate it with her wheelchair. She had also lodged a formal complaint about the access issue to which she had not received a response (despite previously raising this with the Ombudsman).
During the Ombudsman’s enquiries Cartrefi Conwy completed the fitting of a ramp, informed by an Occupational Therapy (OT) report, to resolve the access issue. As an up-to-date assessment of Mrs X’s needs was required, the Ombudsman was not overly critical of the delay caused by the wait for an OT report although acknowledged the frustration felt by Mrs X. However, there was an unacceptable delay in Cartrefi Conwy providing Mrs X with a complaint response -some months after she had first formally complained – and outside the timescales set down in its own complaints policy.
As an alternative to a full investigation, Cartrefi Conwy agreed to undertake the following to resolve the complaint, within 1 month:
• Offer Mrs X a written apology for the delay in dealing with, and formally responding to, the complaint about the ramp access issue
• In recognition of her time and trouble and inconvenience, in pursuing the matter with both Cartrefi Conwy and the Ombudsman (twice), to offer Mrs X redress in the sum of £125
