Relationship between NHS continuing care and free personal care clarified

2010-03-04 11:59:08

The House of Lords is currently debating the exact nature of the forthcoming Personal Care at Home Bill, before issuing a White Paper. In response to questions raised about how the Bill will affect people who currently receive NHS-funded continuing care for serious health needs Baroness Thornton made the following statement: ‘If an individual has primary healthcare needs, NHS continuing care should meet this and the individual's package of care would be provided by the NHS and not by the local authority. It is important to recognise that if an individual needs continuing care to meet needs which do not include a significant health component, this will be provided by the local authority – it is right that they should be able to receive their personal care free of charge, if they qualify for it. It is important that NHS continuing care and free personal care are recognised as different ways of delivering health and social care where the balance between health and care may differ.’ This is an important point as people can receive NHS continuing care at home, and it needs to be clear in which cases the NHS will fund and arrange care and when this must be done by the local authority.