Revamp free care home tests 'as a matter of urgency' says Age NI after major court judgement

It comes in the wake of a court case this week which effectively said that the criteria being used to gauge who should get free stays in care homes was inadequate.

The case had been taken by the Commissioner for Older People NI, who had argued that the criteria being used was vague and varied from one health trust to another.

Mr Justice Scoffield in the High Court said that the department must go away and re-think its approach, but the commissioner himself, Eddie Lynch, told the News Letter the ramifications could be enormous.

Not only will new applicants for free care home placess now be in line for a clearer form of means-testing, but those who are already paying for their care home stays could be able to challenge the decision to make them pay – putting them in line for a refund.

Given that it can cost anywhere from £600 to £800 per week to live in a care home, the sums of money involved could be huge.

The priority though, said Dr Paschal McKeown, director of Age NI, is for that new, clearer set of rules to be drawn up around who is eligible for free care.

“Age NI welcomes the judgment made by Mr Justice Scoffield following the legal challenge by the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland, Eddie Lynch,” she said in a statement.

“We urge the department to produce, as a matter of urgency, clear guidance and information on the process that will be put in place to fairly assess the health needs of an older person and ensure health care is provided free of charge.

“It is also important to ensure that people who may have been able to benefit from Continuing Healthcare [the programme by which people are assessed and placed in care homes] have an opportunity to have their needs assessed again in light of this judgment.”

The Department of Health said it will be “considering the judgement before deciding on next steps”.

Mr Lynch told the News Letter on Tuesday that his court case had been taken on behalf of a man who felt he was entitled to free care.

"The judge is basically saying the department needs to go back and put in a new process so a fair assessment can be made of his case," said Mr Lynch.

"If that finds out that actually he was entitled to it, and I think there's a very strong possibility he'd meet the criteria for continuing healthcare, the judge has said if that's the case he should be reimbursed all his care home fees he has paid for the last six years.

"And he's paying £25,000 a year. So that's what it means. And that's one person.

"We have about 40 cases on our books of people who have contacted us on this issue over a number of years, and we're currently in the process of going out right now to people, talking to them about what this judgement means and what the options are.

"But there is scope here for people to go back and challenge that they should've got a fair assessment.

"And if it can be proven their condition at the time would qualify for this then there is a case to be made for people getting refunds."