§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his estimates of the cost of implementing the Royal Commission recommendation of free personal care took into account the(a) decision of the Health Service Ombudsman in the case of Mr. Malcolm Pointon and (b) subsequent review by strategic health authorities of continuing care decisions and policies following the decision by the Health Service Ombudsman. [152913]
§ Dr. LadymanThe decision by the Health Service Ombudsman in the case of Malcolm Pointon is a decision on an individual case, and as such has no bearing on the estimates of the cost of free personal care at a national level.
The review by strategic health authorities (SHAs) of past decisions on national health service-funded continuing care is retrospective. Payments will be made to individuals where incorrect decisions about NHS funding were made in the past, but these have no bearing on the future cost of free personal care at a national level. Any change made by SHAs to eligibility criteria for fully funded NHS continuing care, following review, is covered in the range of estimates given for the cost of free personal care.