The families of elderly people in Wales could reclaim thousands of pounds in care fees from the NHS for care that should have been provided free of charge.

Liverpool, UK -- (SBWire) -- 06/07/2013 --Many elderly people, who have been paying for long term nursing care in Wales, could reclaim thousands of pounds in care fees for care that should have been provided free of charge. If a relative of yours has a genuine healthcare need, then the costs of nursing care should be funded by the NHS.

An incorrect assessment of your relative’s healthcare requirements by the NHS, or simply not knowing that you qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare, could be costing you thousands of pounds. Your relative’s circumstances could give you grounds to make a claim. If the claim succeeds all the care and nursing home costs and fees that they have had to pay out may be refunded in full. Claims can also be made by the executor of a will or by the surviving family members of someone who has died, if they had to pay for their nursing care whilst they were alive.

With the average length of stay for residents in care currently at around 2.5 years1 and the average yearly cost of care in Wales at £33,5922, someone entering care today could find themselves having to pay, on average, somewhere in the region of £84,000 in fees3 during the time they are in care.

Meeting the high costs of residential or nursing care can quickly burn through any savings your relative might have put away. Increasingly it is the case that elderly people are finding that they have to sell their family home to afford care costs. Finding out if you can claim back some or all of the healthcare costs on behalf of a relative who has been paying for care can make a massive difference to your family’s financial situation.

Claim back care costs in Wales with Canter Levin & Berg Solicitors

Here at Canter Levin & Berg Solicitors we can help you to claim back unpaid NHS Continuing Healthcare monies if your relative lives in Wales and receives nursing or residential care. We can also make claims to recover unpaid NHS Continuing Healthcare in circumstances where your relative was receiving nursing care within the last 10 years and they have recently passed away.

If you believe a member of your family is entitled to Continuing NHS Healthcare funding in Wales and they are not receiving it, take the next step! Contact our experts Dawn Joughin and Krystal Lewis, at Canter Levin & Berg Solicitors today on 01978 253 150.

1 Personal Social Services Research Unit, Length of Stay in Care Homes, Jan 2011.
2 For care homes with nursing, based on 2011/12 weekly figures from the ‘Care of Elderly People Report 2011’, produced by Laing & Buisson.
3 Based on an average weekly cost for a care home with nursing of £646 multiplied by 130 weeks (2.5 years).