The families of patients who have been in residential or nursing homes or are being cared for elsewhere for long term illnesses such as Alzheimer's since before April 2003 have until 4th December 2009 to lodge claims with their local health board to recover the costs of continuing medical care, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, Peter Black, has discovered.
The deadline is tucked away on the Welsh Government website but there appears to have been no attempt by Ministers to publicise it or to encourage claims despite the fact that many families will have paid out tens of thousands of pounds in care costs and have had to sell their relative's homes to find the money.
This issue has been brought into sharp relief by a settlement in August this year when the family of Mrs Marjorie Eyton-Jones from North Wales were refunded 165,000 pounds in costs they had incurred in ensuring she received medical care in the last few years of her life.
Mr. Black believes that there are hundreds of people in Wales who are in a similar position to Mrs Eyton-Jones' family. One firm of solicitors has over 900 cases on its books the vast majority of which are in Wales. In many cases patients have not had the continuing care assessment they are entitled too and as a result medical costs are being paid by themselves or their relatives rather that the Government.
"There is a great deal of confusion and lack of knowledge around this issue which means that many people are struggling to raise large sums of money to pay for care when they should not need to do so," said Mr. Black. "In England there is a national framework that sets out clear criteria for health bodies to follow. That is missing in Wales."
"What is worse is that the Welsh Government has added to this confusion by introducing an arbitrary deadline for claims and then not publicising it. It is tucked away on an obscure part of their website."
"I would urge families whose relatives are in long term care and particularly those in residential homes to find out their rights and submit a claim to their Local Health Board as soon as possible. I am happy to assist with that as I am sure, will other Assembly Members and MPs and have details of legal representatives who can offer additional advice. The Government should not be allowed to ignore its legal obligations on this issue."
