People urged to reclaim nursing fees as soon as possible
By Lezanne Janse van Rensburg, 3rd December
2009
Families in Wales who were incorrectly charged care home fees
have until this Friday to lodge their claims.
According to solicitor Lisa Morgan individuals will not be able
to claim the wrongfully paid nursing fees if the deadline is
missed. Morgan stated that Friday will be "the last chance" to have
any payments, which were paid before April 2003, reviewed by local
health boards for a possible refund.
The reclaiming of care home fees follows after a number of
families realised they were wrongfully charged the fees due to
primary care trusts erroneously categorising people as being
ineligible for free NHS continuing care. Many elderly patients were
forced to sell their homes in a desperate attempt to fund their
care as a result.
According to a 1999 ruling the NHS should be held responsible
for care home funding of an elderly person in a care home due to
ill health. But the exact definition of what constitutes ill health
is very vague and has resulted in a number of individuals having to
pay care home costs when they should have been fully exempted from
paying these fees.
It is these individuals who were incorrectly held responsible
for care home fees who are now urged to hand in their claims
against the NHS before the deadline.
Besides the controversy surrounding the care home funds there
has also been confusion over the proposed deadline. Many people
claim they were never aware of the deadline, stating that poor
publicity is to blame. Trisha Lane, one of thousands of claimants,
says that she only became aware of the deadline about a month ago
after seeing a notice on the internet.
According to one law firm, approximately 2,000 queries regarding
the deadline and the Welsh Assembly's decision to close the
reimbursement scheme have been received in recent weeks.
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