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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Who should fund long-term nursing care?
— implications of the Court of Appeal judgment in R v North and East Devon Health Authority ex parte Coughlan (July 1999) | | Corporate Author | Age Concern; Alzheimer's Disease Society; Carers National Association; Help the Aged; Patients Association; Relatives and Residents Association; Royal College of Nursing - RCN |
| Publisher | RCN, London, 1999 |
| Pages | 4 pp (Reorder number 001150) |
| Source | RCN, 20 Cavendish Square, London W1M 0AB. |
| Keywords | Nursing homes ; Residents [care homes] ; Long term ; National Health Service ; Finance [care] ; Law. |
| Annotation | The current operation of the long-term care system in England and Wales is explained, as well as the effect of the Court of Appeal judgment in the case of Coughlan and North and East Devon Health Authority. Pamela Coughlan, a woman with severe physical disabilities in permanent need of nursing care, successfully fought to prevent the health authority from closing Mardon House, a purpose-built NHS nursing NHS home in Exeter, and moving residents to the independent sector. The Court of Appeal made it clear that nursing care should be provided under the NHS Act 1977. More crucially, Section 21 of the National Assistance Act 1948 requires local authorities to provide accommodation for certain vulnerable groups. It means that the NHS can transfer responsibility for some nursing care to local authorities, but cannot if a patient's primary need for accommodation is a health need. The case has raised the prospect that many other people may be entitled to free long-term nursing care on the NHS, and this leaflet sets out practical steps on how to find out. Problems are likely to arise in interpreting the ruling, as the Court did not set out the precise boundary for defining the point at which health needs become the primary need. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-991008202 P |
| Classmark | LHB: KX: 4Q: L4: QC: VR * |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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