Family recover over £165,000 in wrongly paid nursing home fees
12I08I09
Family recover over £165,000
in wrongly paid nursing home fees
Mrs Marjorie Eyton-Jones
was admitted to a nursing home in August 1998. Due to her capital
and income, the family were told that she had to pay for her own
nursing care which totalled over £165,000. With the help of Hugh
James solicitors and after a 6 year fight, the family have now
recovered all the nursing home fees paid.
Mrs Eyton-Jones, a former
secretary to the commissioner of police in Hong Kong, suffered with
dementia and was admitted to Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital in North Wales
in July 1998 suffering with a fractured femur as a result of a fall
at home. The family were informed that she could not return
home as she required 24 hour nursing care. Mrs Eyton-Jones
was then admitted to the Manor House Nursing Home in the Wirral in
August 1998 to be near her family.
Mrs Eyton-Jones suffered
with Alzheimer’s disease, as a result of her illness, she was
agitated, totally confused and disorientated in time and place and
was aggressive to others. In November 1999, the Manor Nursing Home
could no longer cope with Mrs Eyton-Jones needs so she was
transferred to Brimstage Manor Nursing Home in Brimstage where she
remained until she died in May 2007. As her health deteriorated,
Mrs Eyton-Jones became immobile, could not communicate and
ultimately lost her ability to swallow. Her family, helped by
Hugh James, had to prove that she had ‘health needs’ which meant
she was entitled to NHS Continuing Healthcare and did not have to
pay £1900 per month needed for her long term nursing
care.
Continuing healthcare is
where the NHS is responsible for, and fully funds care. It mainly
affects very ill patients, often elderly, in nursing homes. It can
also apply if a person is in hospital long term or needs nursing
care at home.
The case has been ongoing
for 6 years and has involved three health authorities; Powys Local
Health Board, Anglesey Local Health Board and Wirral Primary Care
Trust. Despite the Primary Care Trust describing Mrs Eyton-Jones as
grossly cognitively impaired and having a multiple and high level
needs reflecting an unpredictable/ unstable condition, they would
not award NHS Continuing Healthcare.
Mr Gordon Line, Mrs
Eyton-Jones son said: “The only reason my mother was in a Nursing
Home is because she was very ill and required 24 hour nursing care.
I was simply told that as she had capital, she had to pay for her
nursing home fees. No other option was given.”
He went on to say “When I
became aware of NHS Continuing Healthcare following the Ombudsman’s
report in 2003, I immediately took steps and asked that my mother
be assessed for continuing healthcare. I felt it was clear that my
mother should have had her fees paid by the NHS. The current system
we have is complex and unfair. It is a labyrinth and anyone trying
to navigate through it needs assistance. It has been a hard and
long six year fight, but I am happy that the NHS have finally
admitted that they should have been responsible for my mum’s
nursing home fees and will be reimbursing all the money.”
Lisa Morgan, Solicitor
with the Specialist Nursing Care Team at Welsh law firm Hugh James
acts for the late Mrs Eyton-Jones’s family and argues that the case
is just the tip of the iceberg: “Thousands of people across England
and Wales are being wrongly charged for nursing care and in many
cases, they are forced to sell their family home to pay. If the
primary reason a person is in a care home is because of their
health and all costs should be met for free by the NHS. To date, we
have recovered over six million pounds in nursing home fees on
behalf of our clients.”
Lisa Morgan adds: “Hugh
James currently represents over 750 people claiming they have been
wrongly charged nursing care fees in Wales. Under current
government policy, there should be a comprehensive assessment for
people as soon as they are deemed as needing long-term care, which
determines whether they are entitled to have their fees paid.
That is not happening in many cases and families are losing
out.
“Mrs Eyton-Jones’s family
were forced to sell her home to fund the nursing home fees. They
paid over £165,000 in nursing home fees. If the Local Health Board
had undertaken a full assessment in compliance with correct
guidance, this could have been avoided. Under current policy
a person should be the responsibility of the NHS if their primary
need is health. However, in many cases, Local Health Boards in
Wales and Primary Care Trusts in England are not applying the
correct legal test.