The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) refused COM/4771.
Their understanding of the Complaint was that I wanted Haringey Council to service my hoist.
The mandatory six-month service was due in November 2025. When this did not happen, I sought to understand why.
The primary issue is that NRS entered bankruptcy in August 2025, yet Haringey Council failed to inform service users. It was not until 2 February 2026 that I discovered
this situation had left my Sara Plus Hoist completely without support.
Because COM/4771 was refused by the LGO, I raised formal complaint COM/8499 to address these unresolved issues.
Complaint Question
In retrospect, my initial submission was a series of statements rather than explicit questions. The core issue I failed to highlight directly was:
Given that NRS entered bankruptcy in August 2025 without any notice to service users, my core complaint question is: why was I left relying on an unsupported
Sara Plus Hoist for months without communication or a contingency plan?
Response
Haringey Council issued their response in just 3 days, concluding:
The OT Advanced Practitioner reviewed the situation and confirmed to Adam that she agreed with his
recommendation to pursue a new maintenance contract rather than a replacement hoist. The current Sara Stedy Plus
is not reported as broken, and a maintenance contract would ensure continued safety and support for the equipment.
— AHC Complaints, Haringey Council
This statement effectively shut down any meaningful conversation. It was not an open discussion or an attempt to resolve the issue,
but rather a way of closing the complaint without addressing its core reasons.
Ombudsman
I approached the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman on
and was given a reference number. The complaint is currently at the Assessment Stage.
They will spend weeks (or
MONTHS
) just trying to decide if the complaint is something they can investigate.
This is despite Haringey Council specifically signposting me to them, as there are no other organizations left to deal with the issue.
Even if the complaint is accepted, it will be months before an actual investigation begins.
