§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr. Stephen Ladyman)I am reporting on progress with investigations into cases where individuals may have been inappropriately denied fully funded National Health Service care since 1996. These cases relate only to matters of past financial injustice and all claimants had access to care services and NHS treatment.
The majority of strategic health authorities (SHAs) have made considerable progress since December in the process of remedying any consequent financial injustice to patients (or the estates of such patients) who had wrongly been made to pay for the cost of their continuing care. In December, just over 22 per cent. of cases received had been completed. Between December and March a substantial number of additional cases had been reported and by the end of March 57 per cent. of cases had been completed. A percentage completion rate of pre-March 31 cases of more than 85 per cent. in July reflects the amount of work undertaken by all NHS and local authority personnel involved.
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Figures for progress with restitution cases in continuing care At Dec 03 At Dec 03 At March 04 At March 04 At July 04 At July 04 Strategic health authority (SHA) name Number of cases Percentage completed Number of cases Percenatage completed Percantage completed* Cases eligible for payment** Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 512 2.3 651 43.2 91.8 72 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA 216 13.0 212 48.1 59.5 38 Essex SHA 6 0.0 172 84.9 97.7 15 North West London SHA 146 28.8 372 48.7 98.0 108 North Central London SHA 121 5.0 125 51.2 74.8 14 North East London SHA 148 3.4 180 93.9 98.8 19 South East London SHA 30 0.0 273 67.0 91.4 165 South West London SHA 190 6.8 215 90.2 96.1 69 Northumberland, Tyne & Wear SHA 275 2.9 298 42.3 73.7 113 County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 226 7.5 226 21.3 96.0 79 North & East Yorkshire & North Lincs SHA 286 44.4 359 74.1 96.3 52 West Yorkshire SHA 156 28.9 349 37.3 79.7 59 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 250 14.4 340 45.3 88.2 41 Greater Manchester SHA 292 22.3 342 29.8 74.1 63 Cheshire & Merseyside SHA 400 0.0 1,196 64.7 97.7 130 Thames Valley SHA 299 52.2 383 47.3 63.9 44 Hampshire and Isle of Wight SHA 387 59.2 507 76.1 97.7 40 Kent and Medway SHA 277 49.1 230 80.9 94.8 36 Surrey and Sussex SHA 964 13.7 875 1.7 37.7 69 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA 698 45.4 961 63.7 100.0 131 South West Peninsula SHA 458 10.9 553 78.3 95.8 144 Dorset and Somerset SHA 425 27.8 915 49.0 95.4 49 South Yorkshire SHA 138 38.4 241 67.6 96.9 43 Trent SHA 400 0.0 315 74.9 86.2 23 Leics, Northants and Rutland SHA 38 21.1 224 90.2 89.6 30 Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA 406 39.7 431 95.6 99.1 40 Birmingham and the Black Country SHA 157 14.7 286 74.5 85.7 77 West Midlands South SHA 193 21.2 424 55.9 98.9 33 Total 8,094 22.6 11,655 57.0 86.1 1,796 Note: * The percentage of cases completed at July refers only to cases received up to and including 31 March 2004. ** The cases eligible for payment at July refers to all cases investigated up to and including 31 July 2004. The NHS has stressed the importance of all cases being investigated thoroughly and accurately and as such is committed to reviewing each application on its own merits. The process involved in undertaking an in-depth review involves contact with many health and social care organisations and bodies, and as such there have been considerable delays in obtaining all the relevant records and patient data. In some cases data and information from aged cases has been lost and, wherever possible, it must be gathered from alternative sources.
Delays should not automatically be attributed to the SHAs involved in particular cases; occasionally it is the claimant themselves who are responsible for the delay. Many SHAs are now exceeding 95 per cent. completion. In some cases, however, progress has been unsatisfactory, and the Department will take up the matter directly with those SHAs.
In total, almost 20 per cent. of cases have been granted recompense. As stated previously, the NHS expects to pay a total of £180 million when all the cases received by the end of March 2004 have been completed.
Approximately 1,600 cases remain outstanding, which is unacceptable. However, I am assured that all cases relating to living people have been prioritised, and that new applications for NHS continuing care are being dealt with in a timely fashion. My Department will be liaising with all SHAs to ensure appropriate procedures are now in place and that outstanding cases are resolved as quickly as possible.
The proportion of completed cases by SHA is shown in the table.