Unknown to many, the Department of Health has set a deadline for families seeking to claim repayment of care home fees, where it is felt that they were wrongly charged. The cut off date is 30 September 2012. Unless families disputing fees paid between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2011 register their claim before this date they will be unable to bring a claim.
Paula Nash, a partner with Oswestry law firm Lanyon Bowdler says “I wonder how many know or have been advised that where a person’s primary need is a ‘health need’, they are eligible for NHS continuing healthcare which is 100% free and is not subject to means assessment”.
“It is a basic principle of the NHS that all medical and nursing services are provided free of charge at the point of need. This includes nursing care of all those who are resident in a care home.”
Many could now lose out on claims to recover care home fees which have been wrongly charged.
It is believed that thousands across the UK have been wrongly charged for care, and in many cases even forced to sell their homes to cover care home costs.
Where a person has contributed to their fees for care from April 2004 onwards, they may be entitled to a reimbursement, even where the person who was cared for has since died but they must act quickly to register their claim before 30 September 2012.
This really is the last chance to reclaim these fees.
