Case studies
1. We assisted a daughter to receive retrospective NHS funding for her mother going back over 6 years. She had been refused twice. She obtained over £107,000 in backdated fees
2. A son who instructed us because he received a demand for £48,000 in care fees after his mother had passed away. He had sold her house when he should not have had to have sold it. He was occupying the house with his mother before she went into care and was told by social services he would have to sell the house to pay for her care. If he had been given the right advice he would have found out that, because he was caring for his mother in her house and because he was a close relative who was himself incapacitated an exemption would have applied. This would have meant that the Council could not take account of the value of the property in assessing her charge. The demand was withdrawn and the liability written off by the Council.
3. A young man with autism was facing being moved into care sharing with three others. His parents were very unhappy about this as he had never shared a house before and the care package which was being offered to him was based on a very general assessment of the three people in the household. We were instructed by the parents and managed to obtain separate accommodation with a specialist care provider at a cost of around £120,000 a year.
4. A young woman with severe disability was being looked after by a care agency who could not cope. We forced the council by issuing Judicial Review Proceedings to provide much more specific services along with aids and adaptations to meet her needs. Additional services were also provided in the interim until the adaptations could be done.
5. A couple who looked after two disabled relatives in their own home were told they could not obtain direct payments to look after them. The reasons given were based on the rule that a close relative living in the same household could not be paid such a payment. We were able to point to several identified needs which allowed an exception to the rule. Direct payments of around £36,000 per year were awarded.
6. A young man who had a rising career in Nursing had to stop to look after his mother when she was paralysed following a stroke. He adapted his own home for her and looked after her there without help for 4 years. He had asked the Primary Care trust to fund her care, as he knew her needs were nursing care needs. They assessed her and agreed that she met the criteria for nursing care funding but they were only prepared to offer limited care as their budget would not allow the 24 hr care she was assessed as needing. The son felt he could not resume his career. After we became involved we obtained a fresh carer’s assessment for the son and forced the PCT to reconsider its decision. They agreed to fund 24hr care in order to help the mother and assist the son to resume his career. We also obtained agreement to fund a brand new extension to the property for the mother’s sole use (with her carers). The case is important as it demonstrates that NHS continuing care can be provided to care for someone in their own home, not just in a nursing home.
