Thousands could be caught in wrangle over care home fees

THOUSANDS of people may have paid for expensive care home services which they should have got for free, according to Yorkshire lawyers.

Leeds firm Godloves Solicitors has successfully obtained refunds of sums of £86,000 which were paid for nursing services.

According to Godloves, these claims highlight the fact that funding has been withheld from vulnerable people.

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Yogi Amin, a public law expert at law firm Irwin Mitchell, told the Yorkshire Post: “People can challenge decisions not to provide health funding through a complaints procedure and ultimately through judicial review.”

In 2007, the Department of Health issued a standard set of tools and a framework for local authorities to assess eligibility for free care, but the way assessments are carried out differs from area to area.

When someone requires 24-hour care, assessments have to be undertaken to establish if the care required is predominantly social and personal care and nursing is ancillary to that care.

If there is a primary need for nursing then fees should not be payable and the NHS should pay in full.

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Janet Ladlow, an associate at Godloves, said Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) were better than they used to be.

However, she claimed that cases involving nursing fees are still common.

She said: “There are potentially thousands who have paid for private care who shouldn’t have.”

Recently, Godloves reclaimed £85,500 from the Croydon Primary Care Trust for the daughter of a woman who died in care. The successful claimant has asked to remain anonymous.

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A spokesman for NHS South West London said: “NHS Croydon has dealt with a number of claims for retrospective fund- ing.

“The majority of these cases are related to funding decisions made prior to the introduction of a national framework for continuing care in 2007.

“If a claim is received, the PCT works with the patient’s family and/or carers and lawyers to complete a retrospective review of funding.”

In another recently settled case, Godloves recovered almost £86,000 from South Tyneside Primary Care Trust for a man whose wife had died in care.

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Audrey Barton, the communications officer at South Tyneside PCT, said: “The questions surrounding those entitled to free care are questions for the national process.

“They are questions concerning the system as a whole and are not for individual PCTs to ans- wer.”

In response, a Department of Health Spokesman said: “PCTs have a legal duty to ensure that continuing healthcare decisions follow the National Framework published by the Depart- ment.

“The NHS has reviewed 12,000 retrospective cases to ensure that past CHC decisions were compliant with the law.”

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According to Ms Ladlaw, Godloves has many similar claims covering England and Wales in the pipeline.

Ms Ladlaw said that “local PCTS are generally fair” in their treatment of patients.