Doesnobody care? |
|
Does
nobody care?
MONEY Mail has been inundated
with letters, calls and emails from readers swamped by the long-term care fees
scandal. Every single one tells a story of hardworking people caught up in a
hideous maze of bureaucracy - when all they want is the financial help with
care the law says they're entitled to.
THE SITUATION
THE Government has paid Pounds 180million
in compensation to people who should never have been charged for their
continuing care. Most of them are frail pensioners in long-term care.
But this is just the tip of the
iceberg.
The system is failing the most
vulnerable members of our society, many of whom fought for our freedom and paid
taxes throughout a long and productive life.
Now, when they are most in
need, they are being neglected and robbed of their savings. More than 70,000
are selling their homes every year to pay nursing fees amounting to often
hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Strategic Health Authorities
(SHAs) around the country admitted this week that there are hundreds of other
cases in the pipeline they have agreed should be recompensed. The law says the
NHS should be funding continuing, long-term care fully if 'a person's primary
need is a health need'.
Even though everyone should be
judged on the same basis, some authorities appear to be paying out more freely
than others.
But a Department of Health
spokesman says: 'Access to continuing NHS health care must be decided on a
case-by-case basis, and not on the basis of whether someone has one particular
condition or another.
'Current guidance says a
person's mental health needs are an issue that should be considered when
establishing eligibility criteria for continuing care.
'It also states that NHS care
may be provided in an NHS hospital, a nursing home, hospice or an individual's
own home.' Shadow health minister Simon Burns urges people to ask their local
MP to put down a written Parliamentary question if they are being thwarted by
the system.
He says: 'This will sharpen
their minds and make sure SHAs deal with complaints promptly. The whole
long-term continuing care fees situation is a monumental cock-up. The
Government has a moral obligation to these people.'
THE STORIES CAMPAIGN MONEY MAIL
is compiling a dossier showing the true picture of how the SHAs treat
vulnerable people in their care. We will present our conclusion to the Health
Minister, Dr Stephen Ladyman. These are just a small selection of the
heartrending tales readers have told us. Now that their voices have been heard,
how can the Government remain silent?
I HAVE been in dispute over
care fees for my wife who died from Alzheimer's disease. I had to pay Pounds
20,000 for her care over two years.
She had savings of Pounds
17,000 when her illness started four years ago. When
that was nearly gone, I took
out a loan for Pounds 5,000 to continue to pay her care home fees. In January
2003 I approached the Health Ombudsman, but so far I have got nowhere.
I am now flat broke.
D.C, aged 83, Warrington.
I HAVE just had an unsuccessful
appeal decision from Chorley And South Ribble Primary Care Trust.
My mother, who died in October
2001, was blind, wheelchair-bound, doubly incontinent, had breast cancer and
leg thrombosis and could eat and drink only when it was literally guided into
her hands.
MY LATE mother suffered from
Alzheimer's disease. When it became obvious she could not care for herself, she
was taken into a residential home. She continued to be self-funding, paying a
total of Pounds 32,000 in fees, until her death in April 2003. Last month, our
claim was rejected by South Somerset primary care trust on the grounds of not
meeting eligibility criteria.
MY HUSBAND has Parkinson's
disease. My son and I found a very nice, caring nursing home three miles from
our home. But as I pay for his care, I can't afford taxis there and if K.T,
Essex.
I miss the bus (which is not
close) I have to walk.
E.G, aged 78, Berkshire.
MY FATHER is very distressed at
having to sell the home in which he and his wife spent many happy years. This
has been a bitter pill to swallow for both my father and the family as the
stress it has induced is matched by the anger we all feel that the State has
reneged on its responsibility to pay for the elderly.
THE Isle of Wight Strategic
Health Authority has turned down my mother's case. She underwent a triple
bypass operation and removal of a lung tumour.
While recovering, she had a
stroke and is now paralysed down the left hand side.
She worked hard all her life
and therefore she and her family feel very let down that, just when she needs
help, she had to sell her house and now nearly all her money is gone.
MY HUSBAND was admitted to a
nursing home 12 months ago. He has dementia and a broken back.
Today, he is unable to feed
himself and does not know the names of our children and grandchildren.
I am fully funding his care.
Last January, my request for funding was C.A, Isle of Wight.
turned down. There is so much
confusion in this area. How ill does one have to be to qualify?
MY MOTHER-IN-LAW went into a
nursing home in January 1999 at the instigation of her GP. She died a year ago,
a couple of months after the money ran out from the sale of her bungalow. We
were asked if the family could contribute to cover this shortfall and received
a bill on the day of her funeral.
The Shropshire And
Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority have decided my mother-in-law was not
entitled to fully-funded care.
I TRIED to claim from Barnet
SHA 18 months ago and got nowhere.
My father was in long-term care
for two years due to Parkinson's and dementia, and died in 2002, and this claim
has been ignored.
I am also trying to claim for
my mother, who is in a care home in Buckinghamshire costing Pounds 800 a week,
which she is paying.
She, too, has dementia. I have
been told she is eligible only for Pounds 70 a week. I was told we should have
left my parents living at home as they would have been eligible for home help
then. But their situations were too advanced and we had to sell their home to
fund the fees.
SINCE Mina Brett, 83, was
admitted to a home for the elderly mentally ill in Oxford five years ago, her
fees have cost Pounds 156,000. She needs 24-hour care. Even though the health
officials have agreed she needs 'a high degree of care', she receives only
Pounds 77.50 a week towards her fees.
Her daughter Betty Webb, 63,
has been challenging the criteria used to assess her mother since last year and
is about to put her case to the Ombudsman.
Mrs Brett's three-bedroom semi
was sold in 1999 for Pounds 118,000. Mrs Webb used Pounds 46,000 to buy an
immediate care needs policy which pays nearly Pounds 500 a week towards her
fees.
Mrs Webb says: 'It's the best
investment I've ever made. I was afraid her money would run out and the authorities
would move her to an awful home.
'My mother wanted her
grandchildren to get her house. I feel so annoyed that old people with a mental
illness are treated differently from people who are physically sick. If they
discriminated against people because of their class or creed there'd be a huge
row.'
GARAGE owner Robert Baker
started complaining about his late aunt's situation in March last year.
Despite being turned down at
every phase of the complaints procedure, he has persisted. His aunt, Florrie
Parrott, died aged 86 at Christmas 1999. She had been in a home since 1986,
suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia.
Robert, 58, from Romford in
Essex, says: 'The whole complaints system is ridiculous and seems designed to
grind you down.
Only the most tenacious have
any chance of getting anywhere.
I wanted my aunt to live with
me and my wife Barbara, but the doctor said we wouldn't be able to cope with
her. She had no children and helped bring us up.' Her bungalow in Rainham in
Essex was sold to pay for her nursing home fees of Pounds 40,000. She'd wanted
to leave her home, which would now be worth about Pounds 200,000, to Robert,
his sister Joan and two other family members who have since died.
Her case is now with the
Ombudsman, who wrote to Robert four months ago saying they were waiting for the
North East London Strategic Health Authority to send them his aunt's medical
records. He has heard nothing since.
|
Does
nobody care? |
|
? |
|
MONEY Mail has been inundated
with letters, calls and emails from readers swamped by the long-term care fees
scandal. Every single one tells a story of hardworking people caught up in a
hideous maze of bureaucracy - when all they want is the financial help with
care the law says they're entitled to. |
|
THE SITUATION |
|
THE Government has paid Pounds
180million in compensation to people who should never have been charged for
their continuing care. Most of them are frail pensioners in long-term care. |
|
But this is just the tip of the
iceberg. |
|
The system is failing the most
vulnerable members of our society, many of whom fought for our freedom and paid
taxes throughout a long and productive life. |
|
Now, when they are most in
need, they are being neglected and robbed of their savings. More than 70,000
are selling their homes every year to pay nursing fees amounting to often
hundreds of thousands of pounds. |
|
Strategic Health Authorities
(SHAs) around the country admitted this week that there are hundreds of other
cases in the pipeline they have agreed should be recompensed. The law says the
NHS should be funding continuing, long-term care fully if 'a person's primary
need is a health need'. |
|
Even though everyone should be
judged on the same basis, some authorities appear to be paying out more freely
than others. |
|
But a Department of Health
spokesman says: 'Access to continuing NHS health care must be decided on a
case-by-case basis, and not on the basis of whether someone has one particular
condition or another. |
|
'Current guidance says a
person's mental health needs are an issue that should be considered when
establishing eligibility criteria for continuing care. |
|
'It also states that NHS care
may be provided in an NHS hospital, a nursing home, hospice or an individual's
own home.' Shadow health minister Simon Burns urges people to ask their local
MP to put down a written Parliamentary question if they are being thwarted by
the system. |
|
He says: 'This will sharpen
their minds and make sure SHAs deal with complaints promptly. The whole
long-term continuing care fees situation is a monumental cock-up. The
Government has a moral obligation to these people.' |
|
THE STORIES CAMPAIGN MONEY MAIL
is compiling a dossier showing the true picture of how the SHAs treat
vulnerable people in their care. We will present our conclusion to the Health
Minister, Dr Stephen Ladyman. These are just a small selection of the
heartrending tales readers have told us. Now that their voices have been heard,
how can the Government remain silent? |
|
I HAVE been in dispute over
care fees for my wife who died from Alzheimer's disease. I had to pay Pounds
20,000 for her care over two years. |
|
She had savings of Pounds 17,000
when her illness started four years ago. When |
|
that was nearly gone, I took
out a loan for Pounds 5,000 to continue to pay her care home fees. In January
2003 I approached the Health Ombudsman, but so far I have got nowhere. |
|
I am now flat broke. |
|
D.C, aged 83, Warrington. |
|
I HAVE just had an unsuccessful
appeal decision from Chorley And South Ribble Primary Care Trust. |
|
My mother, who died in October
2001, was blind, wheelchair-bound, doubly incontinent, had breast cancer and
leg thrombosis and could eat and drink only when it was literally guided into
her hands. |
|
MY LATE mother suffered from
Alzheimer's disease. When it became obvious she could not care for herself, she
was taken into a residential home. She continued to be self-funding, paying a
total of Pounds 32,000 in fees, until her death in April 2003. Last month, our
claim was rejected by South Somerset primary care trust on the grounds of not
meeting eligibility criteria. |
|
MY HUSBAND has Parkinson's
disease. My son and I found a very nice, caring nursing home three miles from
our home. But as I pay for his care, I can't afford taxis there and if K.T,
Essex. |
|
I miss the bus (which is not
close) I have to walk. |
|
E.G, aged 78, Berkshire. |
|
MY FATHER is very distressed at
having to sell the home in which he and his wife spent many happy years. This
has been a bitter pill to swallow for both my father and the family as the
stress it has induced is matched by the anger we all feel that the State has
reneged on its responsibility to pay for the elderly. |
|
THE Isle of Wight Strategic
Health Authority has turned down my mother's case. She underwent a triple
bypass operation and removal of a lung tumour. |
|
While recovering, she had a
stroke and is now paralysed down the left hand side. |
|
She worked hard all her life
and therefore she and her family feel very let down that, just when she needs
help, she had to sell her house and now nearly all her money is gone. |
|
MY HUSBAND was admitted to a
nursing home 12 months ago. He has dementia and a broken back. |
|
Today, he is unable to feed
himself and does not know the names of our children and grandchildren. |
|
I am fully funding his care.
Last January, my request for funding was C.A, Isle of Wight. |
|
turned down. There is so much
confusion in this area. How ill does one have to be to qualify? |
|
MY MOTHER-IN-LAW went into a
nursing home in January 1999 at the instigation of her GP. She died a year ago,
a couple of months after the money ran out from the sale of her bungalow. We
were asked if the family could contribute to cover this shortfall and received
a bill on the day of her funeral. |
|
The Shropshire And
Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority have decided my mother-in-law was not
entitled to fully-funded care. |
|
I TRIED to claim from Barnet
SHA 18 months ago and got nowhere. |
|
My father was in long-term care
for two years due to Parkinson's and dementia, and died in 2002, and this claim
has been ignored. |
|
I am also trying to claim for
my mother, who is in a care home in Buckinghamshire costing Pounds 800 a week,
which she is paying. |
|
She, too, has dementia. I have
been told she is eligible only for Pounds 70 a week. I was told we should have
left my parents living at home as they would have been eligible for home help
then. But their situations were too advanced and we had to sell their home to
fund the fees. |
|
HOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR VOICE
HEARD |
|
ONLY the most persistent will
make it through the Byzantine bureaucracy, which causes huge delays in
assessing and hearing appeals. |
|
Write to your Strategic Health
Authority (SHA) and ask for a review of your case. (The NHS Public Enquiry
Office on 020 7210 4850 will tell you which SHA to write to and the address.)
Ask whether it has checked that its rules are in line with the 'Coughlan
criteria'and ask for a copy of its eligibility criteria. |
|
You will be passed on to your
local Primary Care Trust (PCT). If you are not happy with the response, you can
request an assessment by an independent review panel, which should be done
within four weeks, and/or go through the usual complaints system. |
|
You can copy a sample letter
showing how to complain to the relevant SHA by clicking on this report at
Borrow & Spend at www.thisismoney.co.uk |
|
SINCE Mina Brett, 83, was
admitted to a home for the elderly mentally ill in Oxford five years ago, her
fees have cost Pounds 156,000. She needs 24-hour care. Even though the health
officials have agreed she needs 'a high degree of care', she receives only
Pounds 77.50 a week towards her fees. |
|
Her daughter Betty Webb, 63
(pictured left with her husband Roy, 67), has been challenging the criteria
used to assess her mother since last year and is about to put her case to the
Ombudsman. |
|
Mrs Brett's three-bedroom semi
was sold in 1999 for Pounds 118,000. Mrs Webb used Pounds 46,000 to buy an
immediate care needs policy which pays nearly Pounds 500 a week towards her
fees. |
|
Mrs Webb (pictured with her
mother as a child) says: 'It's the best investment I've ever made. I was
afraid her money would run out and the authorities would move her to an awful
home. |
|
'My mother wanted her
grandchildren to get her house. I feel so annoyed that old people with a mental
illness are treated differently from people who are physically sick. If they
discriminated against people because of their class or creed there'd be a huge
row.' |
|
GARAGE owner Robert Baker
started complaining about his late aunt's situation in March last year. |
|
Despite being turned down at
every phase of the complaints procedure, he has persisted. His aunt, Florrie
Parrott (inset right), died aged 86 at Christmas 1999. She had been in a home
since 1986, suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia. |
|
Robert, 58, from Romford in
Essex, says: 'The whole complaints system is ridiculous and seems designed to
grind you down. |
|
Only the most tenacious have
any chance of getting anywhere. |
|
I wanted my aunt to live with
me and my wife Barbara, but the doctor said we wouldn't be able to cope with
her. She had no children and helped bring us up.' Her bungalow in Rainham in
Essex was sold to pay for her nursing home fees of Pounds 40,000. She'd wanted
to leave her home, which would now be worth about Pounds 200,000, to Robert, his
sister Joan (pictured) and two other family members who have since died. |
Her case is now with the
Ombudsman, who wrote to Robert four months ago saying they were waiting for the
North East London Strategic Health Authority to send them his aunt's medical records.
He has heard nothing since.
|
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