Ongoing Healthcare crisis: Record number of chronically ill patients being denied NHS care funding –

The Mail on Sunday may reveal that a record number of chronically ill disabled people are not getting funding for their care.

An analysis of official data shows that only one-fifth of people with disabling conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia and spine who need government-funded assistance this year will receive it. This is the lowest figure ever outside of the pandemic years, when listening was completely blocked.

Every year, around 160,000 people apply for NHS funding, called ‘continuing health care’, which is available to people with significant medical needs.

Unlike social care funds for some people in need of care, permanent health care is only offered to people who are in poor health and need regular medical care.

Ten years ago, 34% of these applications were successful. 22 percent today. Meanwhile, discrete data from this document show a sharp increase in the number of reviews considered wrongly dismissed for funding on subsequent appeals.

NHS England data obtained by The Mail on Sunday under the Freedom of Information Act shows that a third of appeals by NHS health chiefs were successful in 2020/21, up from a fifth in 2016/17.

In these cases, the Local Health Authority has to pay years of interest on retroactive payments and reimburse families for care.

Lisa Morgan, partner at Hugh James Solicitors, which specializes in helping families struggle for NHS health financing, says: “In most cases, if [the clinical commissioning group] Had he made the right decision in the first place, he could have saved thousands of liras.’

The revelations came weeks after the Sunday Post told heartbreaking stories of hopelessly ill people who are completely dependent on their relatives deprived of NHS-funded care. Some later went through the lengthy and costly appeals process against the legal aid decision, but months or years later they were told they would always have to get funding.

The Mail on Sunday may reveal that a record number of chronically ill disabled people are not getting funding for their care. (Image file)

We report on a woman who, despite having severe dementia that barely moved her, fought for 15 years to secure finances for her husband. He eventually appealed the case, where the independent panel found the decision to withhold the funding “unjustified” and ordered local health chiefs to pay the full amount along with the £13,000 legal fee.

Now lawyers say they are “increasingly” faced with similar situations.

Morgan said: ‘Obviously some local officials say no to even the most obvious case. “Some reject almost all of them because appealing the decision is a painful process and few have the strength to face it.”

Continuing to fund healthcare is £3.5bn of NHS money earmarked to cover the costs of caring for people with very special medical needs.

To be eligible, patients must meet certain criteria, such as wounds that require regular nursing care. This means that many may not be considered care seekers by their local primary clinician, even if they are demented and bedridden.

In 2016 NHS England announced its plan to save £855m from continued healthcare across England. Funds allocated since then have fallen by a fifth, according to official figures.

Margaret Copus, who suffered a stroke from Sussex, was barred from providing medical care for three years before an independent jury overturned the verdict.

About 160,000 people apply for NHS funding each year, called ‘continuing health care’ – money given to people with significant medical needs.

In 2017, Margaret’s cousin, Navy veteran Brian Earle, 74, applied for funding on behalf of her 89-year-old aunt after developing severe dementia. He realized that he was entitled to the money and thought he could afford the nursing home. However, the application was rejected by the health directors because Margaret was not ill enough.

Hugh James Law Firm assisted Mr. Earle in appealing the case. A hearing was held in September 2020, which revealed that Margaret has indeed been eligible to receive funding since 2017.

His family returned the approximately £145,000 plus £10,000 interest they had spent on his maintenance.

Margaret died weeks later, in March 2021, at the age of 93.

Mr. Earle says: ‘The bureaucracy involved in fighting the system is appalling. We have never doubted that health needs mean that its care must be entrusted to the NHS. He was deprived of something to which he was clearly entitled.’

An NHS spokesperson said: ‘Eligibility for NHS continuing health funding is determined individually by health and social care professionals in accordance with Department of Health and Care guidelines and regulations. social.

“Eligibility is based on essential health needs, not on a specific medical condition, disease, or diagnosis.”

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN infusions and transfusions?

Both terms describe how a fluid enters the body.

Some drugs cannot be taken orally because they lose their effectiveness as they pass through the intestines, so they are given by infusion with a needle or catheter.

While infusions tend to be given directly into a vein, they can also go under the skin. Common infusions include antibiotics and saline.

In a transfusion given by needle into a vein, the patient receives blood from a donor for severe bleeding or conditions such as sickle cell anemia and certain cancers. They can also be used to replace certain blood components, such as plasma.

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