MP urges elderly residents to check they are not being charged for 'free' care services
September 16, 2009 2:55 PM
MP John Pugh is urging elderly residents and their families to check that they are not being charged thousands of pounds in care fees that the NHS should be paying.
Dr Pugh is drawing attention to a legal ruling on provision of care for the elderly which may be being ignored in a number of cases, with the result that people are being forced to sell their homes to afford care they should be getting for free.
In ordinary circumstances, if an elderly person requires long-term care and has assets of over £23,000, the NHS requires them to fund their own care (e.g. moving into a care home). In many cases, this has forced elderly people to sell their homes in order to pay for care.
However, in 1999 the Court of Appeal ruled that the NHS had to provide free care for elderly people who need long-term care because they are ill. That is, if a person requires care not simply because they are getting older and find it difficult to manage alone, but because they suffer from a specific medical condition such as (for example) Alzheimer's disease, then the NHS must pay for their care.
However, many health authorities in the UK have not been applying this ruling, and refusing to pay for the long-term care of elderly people with illnesses. This has been challenged in numerous cases, and so far about £8million has been recovered by solicitors representing a further 750 families who claim they have been wrongly charged nursing home fees.
Dr Pugh is therefore urging elderly people, and their families, to check whether they are entitled to free care if the NHS is currently refusing to pay for that care. He said:
"Many elderly people and their families are unaware that they may be entitled to free care even though they are presently paying huge sums of money for it. I urge those who believe that they may be entitled to free care to contact - and if necessary, challenge - the NHS over this matter to ensure they get a fair deal."
He added: "My office in Shakespeare street will be glad to assist any Southport resident who believes they may be being charged for care they should be receiving free, and to help determine whether this is the case and to help get a fair deal if it is."
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