DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release (2007/0179) issued by The Government News Network on 26
June 2007
Thousands of
people in England are likely to receive more help towards their
care costs, said Care Services Minister, Ivan Lewis, today.
The new National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare,
published today, has been developed in close consultation with
voluntary groups, professional bodies and patient/user groups and
will make funding decisions on who is eligible for NHS continuing
care fairer, faster and easier to understand.
It will create consistent access to fully funded care with clear
national policies for deciding eligibility. It also abolishes
different nursing bands for free nursing care - freeing up more
time for nurses and cutting down on repeated patient assessments.
The Framework will be put into action by the NHS and Local
Authorities from October this year, and is expected to cost up to
£220 million in the first year of operation.
Care Services Minister, Ivan Lewis, said:
"We understand that families do have to make difficult and
emotional decisions when someone has to go into residential care
and this can be made worse by having to consider how this will be funded."
At present, people with identical care needs can receive
different decisions on whether they are eligible for fully funded
continuing care, based purely on where they live.
The new system will address these anomalies and will introduce
one national system for everyone needing this type of care in England.
Ivan Lewis continued:
"To make the system fairer for everyone, we have produced
new national guidance. It will not solve all the problems at once
but over time we expect there to be a real improvement that will
lead to fair and consistent access to NHS funding across England,
irrespective of location, diagnosis or personal circumstances.
"This will make the system faster and more convenient for
both patients and professionals. In particular, it will be of help
to those who previously been excluded, such as younger adults with
long term neurological conditions and older people with dementia
or other mental health needs."
Currently, nearly 31,000 people receive NHS continuing care, and
around 70 % of care home residents already have some or all of
their personal care costs paid by the public purse.
The NHS already provides all registered nursing care free for
approximately 123,000 people.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. NHS continuing care is a fully-funded package of health and
social care. If individuals are not eligible for continuing care,
they may be eligible for NHS registered nursing care provided in a
nursing home. Currently, this funding is a tiered system based on
the level of input required, but the Framework proposes to
streamline this so that the NHS provides the same contribution to
everyone receiving this type of care.
2. When individuals do not receive NHS funding, social care
provision is subject to means-testing by the Local Authority. In
addition, individuals who own their own home are usually able to
enter into a deferred payment agreement with the Local authority
to delay the sale of their home
3. The current nursing band rates are, are £40, £87 and £139. The
new single rate is projected to be £101.
[ENDS]