Patrick O’Sullivan’s mother, Shirley, had to sell her house to fund the cost of her care when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
A family has managed to recover a whopping £53,000 in care home fees after being denied NHS support. Patrick O’Sullivan’s mother, Shirley, had to sell her house to fund the cost of her care when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
The Express reports with her care home fees reaching around £550 a week, the family applied for the NHS’s Continuing Healthcare (CHC) to help with costs but were initially denied the support. Patrick said: “The whole process took many years before the NHS settled the claim. In fact, it was settled in two parts as initially, the claims were not accepted.”
He credited the eventual success to “patience” and the “tenacity and determination” of his solicitors, Hugh James, in reaching a settlement. Mr O’Sullivan said: “My mother suffered with Alzheimer’s disease. Her condition during the last two years of her life was very severe. She was doubly incontinent and needed considerable care from the care home.
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“She was also very depressed, had no interest in mixing with other residents and was unable to recognise me when I visited.” He said: “We were absolutely delighted as my mother and indeed my late father, who was a GP, would have been very pleased that at least they were able to bequeath at least some part of their modest wealth.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “Eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare funding is determined on an individual basis by health and social care professionals in line with guidance and regulations set by the Department of Health and Social Care, to ensure there is a consistent approach across the country.”
If an individual is in a nursing or care home because of physical or mental health needs, the cost of their care should be covered by the NHS Continuing Healthcare funding scheme, regardless of the individual’s wealth. However, with around 40% of Britain’s 440,000 care home residents self-funding their care, thousands of families in England and Wales could be wrongly paying care fees.
Therefore, if you or a relative are paying care home fees, you could be due a refund.