Continuing care guides for primary care trusts specify NHS compensation

The Department of Health has published revised guidance on how the NHS should compensate people wrongly denied fully-funded long-term care, meeting criticisms made in today’s report  from the parliamentary ombudsman.

The new guidance for primary care trusts says PCTs should aim to restore people to the financial position they would have been in had they not been denied NHS continuing care in the first place.

The ombudsman, Ann Abraham, criticised previous guidance for urging PCTs to only repay the costs of care, excluding any non-care costs incurred by service users as a result of the decision to deny them funding.

The guidance, unlike its predecessor, also reminded PCTs they could offer payments to individuals to compensate them for any distress caused in denying them continuing care, as recommended by the ombudsman.