Vulnerable people with complex care needs are footing the bill for care that should be covered by the NHS, according to a new report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).
Incorrect and delayed decisions about NHS-funded care packages are having a devastating impact on people’s lives, leaving some without essential care, while some people are having to pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds in care costs while they wait for decisions.
Complaints to the Ombudsman about NHS continuing healthcare funding (CHC) have shown repeated failings in the way local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) assessed people’s care needs and funded their care packages.
Some complainants had made huge financial sacrifices to pay for a family member’s care. Others spent years without the care they needed because their local CCG assessed their needs incorrectly. Many have experienced stress, anxiety and ill-health as a result.
Mr V from London complained to the Ombudsman after his mother, who needed 24-hour care after having a stroke, was not provided with a care plan or sufficient funding to cover her care needs. This meant Mr V’s family had to take on some of the caring responsibilities themselves and fund an additional carer for 119 hours a week for more than two years.
The Ombudsman found the CCG’s failings placed a huge financial and emotional burden on Mr V and his family. Following intervention by the Ombudsman, the CCG refunded Mr V for the care it should have provided his mother, which totalled over £250,000.
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