Long_Term Care Fees Compensation

Long-term care fees compensation is being paid by the department of health for people forced to pay for care.

The Department of Health has paid out more than £180m in compensation to patients who were wrongly charged for long-term care.  Between 1996 and 2004 around 2,000 people were forced to pay for nursing care, they have now received payments averaging £90,000.  According to a 1999 court ruling, the NHS should have provided the care for free because the patients’ needs were health-related rather than social-care related, for example needing help dressing and washing.

The Department of Health’s decision to allow people charged for care during this time to have their cases reviewed was prompted by an attack on the NHS from the Health Service Ombudsman in 2003.  Of the 13,300 claims received, 10,000 have been rejected and 1,300 are still being investigated.  

Our view

The rules are set and it is clear that NHS nursing care is free and social care is not.  How local authorities and the NHS can keep getting this wrong is beyond comprehension.  

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