Continuing Health Care - Preparing to fight PCT's decision

monkeyspanner

weanie wrote: »

Having re-read my own post I note an error - Mum died in December '10 not '09. Does this alter the advice Monkeyspanner? Upon what basis could I criticise the handling of the case? lso i wonder if I could request that any documents given over to the PCT should also be orovided to myself from the home - it seems unbalanced otherwise. Do you thinkj I should approach a solicitor for legal advise? I want to make the best job I can of this as I feel that my mother has been disrespected by various parties here and her interests given little priority. thanks for the advice

I would be critical in respect of the PCT's communication with yourself. I have had a quick look at the CHC National Framework and it states in section 150.

PCTs and SHAs should deal promptly with any request to review decisions about eligibility for either NHS continuing healthcare or NHS-funded nursing care.

Clearly the PCT have not dealt with your letter of August. Neither I suspect have they kept you fully informed of the reasons for their decisions.

If you would like to see more about the frameworks dispute resolution section. The framework document is here:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/dr_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_103161.pdf
and the relevant sections start on page 41.

Involving a solicitor may make the PCT react but I would consult a specialist solicitor.

I hope this helps.

Katykat

Weanie, I engaged a specialist solicitor when I began my fight. Apart from being very quick to point out his fee structure, I ended up doing all the chasing up of information. eg- he sent for the hospital notes ( which incidently tutned out to VERY crucial in my eventual victory) . I had an important meeting coming up, which of course I had to attend, aa this is not part of the solicitors role. It was crucial that I had read these hospital notes. After many phone calls to him, and many unreturned calls too, he eventually contacted the hospital anf obtained the notes. The notes were sent to him, and they were very bulky, and then he had to send them to me so I could read them before the meeting. This particular process took 5 months. I couls have requested the notes myself, driven 1 mile to pick them up and it would probably have taken maybe 2 weeks. I dispened with his services and took over myself. I really believe that any solicitor does not know your relative and their particular needs enough to fight , usually from a remote location. My advice is, do not involve a solicitor, however " specialist" they claim to be. Yes, its a hard fight for you, but in my case the solicitor only added to the stress, something you definately dont need.

gingerfox

Katykat wrote: »

Weanie, I engaged a specialist solicitor when I began my fight. Apart from being very quick to point out his fee structure, I ended up doing all the chasing up of information. eg- he sent for the hospital notes ( which incidently tutned out to VERY crucial in my eventual victory) . I had an important meeting coming up, which of course I had to attend, aa this is not part of the solicitors role. It was crucial that I had read these hospital notes. After many phone calls to him, and many unreturned calls too, he eventually contacted the hospital anf obtained the notes. The notes were sent to him, and they were very bulky, and then he had to send them to me so I could read them before the meeting. This particular process took 5 months. I couls have requested the notes myself, driven 1 mile to pick them up and it would probably have taken maybe 2 weeks. I dispened with his services and took over myself. I really believe that any solicitor does not know your relative and their particular needs enough to fight , usually from a remote location. My advice is, do not involve a solicitor, however " specialist" they claim to be. Yes, its a hard fight for you, but in my case the solicitor only added to the stress, something you definately dont need.

I would second that. I had a 30 minute consultation with one and didn't feel sufficiently confident that they even fully understood the process; additionally I sought CAB advice and after trawling around the internet they offered to lend me a book, no useful advice.

Katy, I want to apply for the notes too - did you have any problem regarding Data Protection?

Katykat

Gingerfox, you do need to have Power of Attorney. When youhave POA, you are legally entitled to do or see anything that the person you have POA for does. If you dont already have it, you will need to apply to the Court of Protection. There is more information about this on their web site. During my years of going through the whole CHC process, I was frequently asked for this, so its crucial really. You should also request all Social Services notes, care home notes and GP records. Most of these people do make a charge though, but I believe it is a maximum of £50.

gingerfox

Katykat wrote: »

Gingerfox, you do need to have Power of Attorney. When youhave POA, you are legally entitled to do or see anything that the person you have POA for does. If you dont already have it, you will need to apply to the Court of Protection. There is more information about this on their web site. During my years of going through the whole CHC process, I was frequently asked for this, so its crucial really. You should also request all Social Services notes, care home notes and GP records. Most of these people do make a charge though, but I believe it is a maximum of £50.

I have the old epa which is registered, but it just covers the financial side, however, all health agencies thus far have been happy to accept it. I do expect the GP to query it though, and possibly refuse.

Katykat

I also had the old EPA and it was never refused by any ofthe health agencies. If its only the GP who refuses, it may not be so bad. In my experience, there wasn't much in the GP notes that was useful anyway, and what was there, was also in the hospital notes. Good look

gingerfox

Katykat wrote: »

I also had the old EPA and it was never refused by any ofthe health agencies. If its only the GP who refuses, it may not be so bad. In my experience, there wasn't much in the GP notes that was useful anyway, and what was there, was also in the hospital notes. Good look

Thanks Katy.

Racoulter200752

When I fought for retribution during the time my father was alive and after his death I obtained his hospital notes and his nursing home notes. I went through these and highlighted every incident which pointed to a health need. The hospital can only charge you £50 for a copy of these. You might have to sit at the nursing home and read through their notes.

Mr_Ted

Could I respectfully request that this particular topic is given its own seperate Forum Heading of maybe "Continuing Health Care Cases"?

This is a highly immotive issue and one which is/can be highly individually case sensative, and from the number of posts, and viewings, is one which is of the highest importance given the issues!

Could I also suggest that a new post is started by all new original posters so that the particular specifics and answers are related to that particular case, so that a particular scenario can be related to that may apply to other viewers or intending posters/responders?

I request this as at present it is very difficult to find a particular scenario that may be applicable to ones own circumstances, and if cases were individually posted, i.e. "Mr Teds CHC case" it would be easier to find a scenario that is similar or the same as ones own without going through the whole 700 odd posts?
i.e. one would be able to see from the OP's first post any similarities and the answers would be specific to that case!

malid

Mr_Ted wrote: »

Could I respectfully request that this particular topic is given its own seperate Forum Heading of maybe "Continuing Health Care Cases"?

This is a highly immotive issue and one which is/can be highly individually case sensative, and from the number of posts, and viewings, is one which is of the highest importance given the issues!

Could I also suggest that a new post is started by all new original posters so that the particular specifics and answers are related to that particular case, so that a particular scenario can be related to that may apply to other viewers or intending posters/responders?

I request this as at present it is very difficult to find a particular scenario that may be applicable to ones own circumstances, and if cases were individually posted, i.e. "Mr Teds CHC case" it would be easier to find a scenario that is similar or the same as ones own without going through the whole 700 odd posts?
i.e. one would be able to see from the OP's first post any similarities and the answers would be specific to that case!

I’m sorry Mr Ted but I don’t agree with your suggestion. This thread, started by Monkeyspanner on the 15th March 2008 is a wealth of information and I have found it invaluable. It was very pertinent to me at that time and I have returned to it several times. It is of great importance to me currently and I will be posting my experience/information shortly.

Individuals have gone out of their way to update this thread even though their circumstances have changes and/or issues resolved. There are many, and I know it’s unfair to single people out, but Monkeyspanner has been outstanding with the sensible information he has provided and unrelenting passion for this cause. My apologies to the other helpful contributors that I have not named; thank you very much.

If this topic ended up with separate threads, you would be asking these kind and knowledgeable individuals to post several times to different situations. It would be tedious and daunting for some to search through different scenarios to find relevant information. CHC is not straightforward and information is not confined in boxes to individual situations. Whilst I consider that I have a reasonable grasp of all this, I still continue to go back to earlier posts and find comments extremely helpful. The thread is only 36 pages and whilst it may appear daunting, it is shorter than some of the guidance booklets that you may have to read. You can ‘weed out’/skim over irrelevant posts.

Some posts have gone ‘off piste’ as it were and have been unhelpful; however, someone has always pulled the thread back in line.

So PLEASE, let’s keep this thread going and Mr Ted, if you are faced with CHC concerns, post the details here and let people help you.

Grateful to all who are contributing to this thread.