'Smash and grab' on care home fees; Wirral Council to cut payments.Byline: BY LIAM MURPHY Mur·phy , William Parry 1892-1987. American physician. He shared a 1934 Nobel Prize for discovering that a diet of liver relieves anemia. Daily Post Staff THE national association representing nursing homes is reporting Wirral Council to the health secretary, accusing the authority of a "smash and grab raid" on money intended for vulnerable elderly people. Wirral Council has come under fire for a cut in the fees it pays to nursing homes caring for elderly patients who qualify for financial support from the local authority. But last night the council said it had consulted prior to bringing in the changes and insisted it remained "one of the highest fee-paying authorities in the region". The Registered Nursing Home Association (RNHA RNHA Republican National Hispanic Assembly RNHA Registered Nursing Home Association ), called the council's move a slap in the face for those who care for some of Wirral's most vulnerable residents. From this month, Wirral Council has terminated all contracts with nursing homes and has given them ant ultimatum either to accept the cut or to stop providing services to the local authority. It means that every councilfunded patient in every nursing home throughout Wirral will see around pounds 14 a week lopped off the amount paid by the council to meet the costs of their care. According to the RNHA, in a typical 40-bed nursing home this amounts to pounds 560 a week or just over pounds 29,000 a year. RNHA chief executive officer Frank Ursell said: "We regard this action as totally unacceptable." He added: "The excuse offered is that the money that nursing home patients receive from the NHS NHS abbr. National Health Service NHS (in Britain) National Health Service towards their care has gone up by an almost equivalent amount." The RNHA has said it will now be writing to the Secretary of State for Health Minister of Health redirects here. For the Canadian Minister of Health please see Minister of Health (Canada). Secretary of State for Health is a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of Health. , Alan Johnson, to protest at the action taken by Wirral Council and to ask him to intervene directly. Last night, a spokeswoman for Wirral's Department of Adult Social Services said: "Even with this modest reduction Wirral remains one of the highest fee-paying authorities in the region." What do you think? Email us with your views at letters@dailypost.co.uk, or write to us PO Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool L69 3EB liammurphy@dailypost.co.uk |
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