§ Baroness Greengrossasked Her Majesty's Government:
What the level of the weekly personal expenses allowance for people living in a long-term care setting will be from April 2002; and what is the method by which the allowance will be increased annually from April 2002. [HL1468]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathDecisions on the level of the personal expenses allowance for people in residential care for April 2002 have yet to be made.
§ Baroness Greengrossasked Her Majesty's Government:
What conditions have to be met before a person in long-term care is eligible to receive National Health Service-provided continuing care; and how these differ from the conditions which have to be met to receive the highest band of free nursing care implemented on 1 October. [HL1471]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathThe responsibility for setting eligibility criteria for continuing National Health Service healthcare rests with local health authorites, working closely with their local councils. Health service local authority circulars HSC 2001/015: LAC (2001)18 on continuing care, issued in June 2001, copies of which are available in the Library, listed the108WA key issues that health authorities should pay attention to when establishing continuing NHS healthcare criteria. A need for continuing NHS healthcare may be indicated where the nature, complexity, intensity or unpredictability of the individual's healthcare needs (and any combination of these needs) requires regular supervision by a consultant, palliative care, therapy or other NHS member of the team.
The local conditions or criteria for continuing NHS healthcare may differ from the highest band of free nursing care because they may include services other than nursing care, whereas the highest band of free nursing care only covers nursing needs that the registered nurse contribution tool picks up following the assessment process.