Dementia sufferers stripped of funding
MorE than a thousand seriously ill patients, including dementia sufferers, are being stripped of vital care funding every year.
They are among the 10,000-plus patients with degenerative and terminal health conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease who undergo tough annual ‘reassessments’ of their care needs.
If they fail to prove they are still ill enough to qualify for financial help, the funding covering their nursing home fees is removed. Some of those affected
walk, talk and are incontinent. In the worst cases, elderly people face draining their bank accounts to pay for the care they need.
Campaigners said it was ‘ upsetting’ that sick people were being left at risk of financial ruin. The Daily Mail has been campaigning for the Government to address the social care crisis urgently – particularly dementia.
Figures from Freedom of Information requests to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) – the local bodies in charge of healthcare – show more than 6,000 patients have had their funding stopped over the past five years, equivalent to more than three a day.
NHS continuing healthcare funding (CHC) is typically worth around £1,000 a week and is paid to people with complex, severe or unpredictable health needs to help cover their care. If funding is granted, the recipient is usually reassessed within three months and thereafter at least annually.
But experts say it is often unclear how decisions are made, and many families believe the funding is removed even if the patient’s condition has deteriorated.
Any patient with assets of more than £23,250 – including the value of their home – must cover the cost themselves. Freedom of Inforcannot mation data also shows the NHS has paid out almost £170million in backdated funding claims over the past five years.
But the amount paid out per year has dropped from a high of £39.9million in 2016/17 to £17.75million in 2018/19.
NHS England has asked CCGs to cut £855million from their CHC and NHS-funded nursing care budgets by 2021 – although the NHS insists this does not affect the number of people who receive funding. The number of individuals eligible for CHC has increased from around 133,000 in 2012/2013 to more than 160,000 in 2018/19.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said the figures were ‘upsetting but not altogether surprising’ given the pressure that local health bodies face to slash costs.
Boris Johnson promised to fix the social care crisis in his first speech as Prime Minister. The Conservative manifesto said it would put £5billion towards social care over the next five years – but was criticised for lacking detail.
An NHS spokesman said: ‘The amount the NHS spends on continuing health care is increasing with more patients getting it, but the Department of Health’s policy makes clear that if somebody’s health improves, they may be assessed as no longer requiring care. However, for the vast majority of people, funding continues until they sadly pass away.’