Age Concern England’s
verdict on the implementation of
‘free’ nursing care
which began on 1st October
It is unworkable, unfair, and unjust..
 On the surface, it looks like a very good thing. Older people in England in nursing homes will be
eligible for free nursing care from the beginning of October. We’re talking about long term care. Residents, after assessment, will qualify for
three levels of nursing care funding - £35, £70 and £110 per week.
But, says Age
Concern England, older people will be bitterly disappointed when they realise how little
difference the newly introduced ‘free’ nursing care will make to the fees they
have to pay for care homes.
The charity fears that older people will be the victim of a whole new
set of complexities and points out that the new system places an extra
burden on nurses and nursing managers, who will be in the unenviable
position of carrying out the rationing of older people’s individual care,
when their first priority should be caring for older people.
 Levels
of indignation about the system are worsened by the fact that older people
in Scotland will be getting their personal and nursing care paid for.
The system kicks in for Scotland in April 2002.
In Wales, assessments apply as in England, coming in around the end of
October. And in Northern Ireland free nursing care was originally promised
for April 2002 but there are delays on this.
The system, claims Age Concern, will in practice be totally unworkable.
They give the following reasons:
·
The definition of nursing care is narrow and artificial. Free nursing
care is limited to the care provided by a registered nurse. This ignores the
major role of nursing and healthcare assistants.
·
Most older people will see very little difference in their fees, and will
still have to pay for the major element of their care – personal care.
Even the Department of Health guidance to nurses puts the word ‘free’ in
quotation marks.
·
Nursing home residents and their relatives still have no idea how the new
system will affect them. Residents have received no information about
what the new system will mean to them.
·
There will be confusion about how
health authorities will pay nursing homes until nurses have time to
assess all the residents who currently pay for their own care. Age Concern
is very anxious that they will place everyone in the lowest ‘band’ of
nursing care until they do the assessment.
·
There have been no instructions from the Department of Health about
whether there will be any Backdating for people who are later assessed to
need a higher band.
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