Eligibility criteria for fully funded NHS continuing care needed

The health ombudsman has called for national eligibility
criteria for fully-funded NHS continuing care, to end a postcode
lottery for people with long-term conditions, writes
Mithran Samuel.

In a report out today, Ann Abraham says strategic health
authorities are continuing to use different standards to determine
who should receive funding, leaving some people wrongly
excluded.

The report follows the government’s acceptance of the case
for national standards, something ministers had previously
resisted.

Last week, health minister Stephen Ladyman said he had
commissioned a national framework for assessing continuing care, to
“improve consistency”.

Continuing care is a care package funded solely by the NHS for
people with long-term conditions.

• NHS funding for long term care: follow up report can be
found at http://www.ombudsman.org.uk.