from Robin of GPSS.co.uk on 4th October 2020: See my covid19 page, to both educate and amuse. e.g. input from overseas friends; Our Queen and UK Government singing :-)
Pamela Coughlan won her case against the Government
in the Appeal Court in
July 1999
.
Governments change, but the Law has not.
"Social Care" is part of Health Care
- according to the Law Society and the Royal College of Nursing.
The NHS must pay all Care Home costs.
See
What the Media report and Parliament
e.g. TV broadcasts and newspaper articles.
Read our
Press Release, unchanged since 2012 and still true.
See Robin's hard-hitting Rotary Club briefing slides from 2009, still valid, in
PDF printable form
or as a
PowerPoint Briefing
- found in 2018.
Interested in Mental Health ?
See
The "Bluebell" pages ...
Robin's Mini-Autobiography from a Shrink's point of view
- not for Shrinks ? :-)
The NHS budget should have increased with increased population, inflation, and life expectancy.
See the
Overview for "the big picture".
These pages advise the UK public on their right, under
existing law and the Coughlan case, to free nursing care
100% funded by the NHS - known as "Continuing Care".
The Law demands that the NHS pay all Care Home costs.
The site is dedicated to Len and Eve Lovelock and was set up by their son Robin, after both good and bad "NHS/Social Security experiences" with his parents, seen here. Len passed away at home in January 2002, and Eve at Holyport Lodge Nursing Home in February 2003. Robin and his sister Sally thank all those who provided professional and loving care in the last years of Len and Eve's full and happy lives, particularly staff in Holyport Lodge Care Home.
You may find the
video of Nicola Mackintosh, Pam Coughlan's solicitor, informative.
This interview was first broadcast on BBCTV's Panorama in 2006,
but Nicola's words are as true today as they were then.
Please see our
advice for solicitors page.
Make sure you are not breaking the law.
Ignorance of the law, and the fact that many others share this ignorance, is no defence in a Law Court.
The Department of Health's
National Framework, which led to the NHS Decision Support Tool (DST), used for assessment of NHS Continuing Care, is
"...not fully compliant with the Coughlan judgement...”
- the Law Society in September 2006.
.
"Social Care" is part of Nursing Care.
Click here for information from the RCN and the amnesty for "whistle blowers".
If you are a patient or
their family, please read and understand the "simple advice for families" above, before contacting us.
You will find email addresses and 'phone numbers on our
contact
page.
What little help Robin gives to individual families is mentioned on the contact page. After emailing Robin one line
answers to simple questions, like your full name and address, he will send you an email with information
that is not public on this site. There is then the opportunity for a 'phone call, to discuss the strengths
and weaknesses of particular law firms, and what to expect in your battle to obtain NHS Continuing Care,
through the NHS Appeal process - and, if required, the Courts.
Show our
Press Release and the
NHSCare.info flyer to your editor:
Read the
overview,
so you see "the big picture".
"This is a case where people have been swindled out of their savings, hounded out of their homes and conned out of the free care they deserve."
Read the
article, written by 90 year old Tony Adams here.
Tony highlights the injustice - but with a wry sense of humour.
The Department of Health's
National Framework, which led to the NHS Decision Support Tool (DST), used for assessment of NHS Continuing Care, is
"...not fully compliant with the Coughlan judgement...”
- the Law Society in September 2006.
Financial pressure concentrates the mind of Government.
Maybe it's time for health insurance policies to cover long term health care ? Insurance companies could team
with law firms to claim back
£billions from the NHS. Consult your legal advisors and
see the footnote on the
overview.
Maybe we will add more detailed advice pages here, such as that for
solicitors
, targeted at those working within
organisations who will be affected by the UK public discovering this site and the truth about how
the law stands. We hope to ensure their legal advisors are
properly briefed, and that this results in policy changes. e.g. corrections to literature from some
major charities, which confuse rather than inform; Unions following NACODS lead and helping
their retired members assert their right to Continuing Care; Large businesses who previously did
not want to "rock the boat" becoming aware of the law and adjusting their policies, including sales
literature. Insurance, Financial Services and Care Home businesses to make plans, to limit
damage to their business and to exploit the opportunities. Remember:
"every crisis is an opportunity"
.
See the
NHSCare.info Flyer page for ideas on how to use the Flyer.
Find web sites
and ask them to add a link to this site with a suitable
caption such as "for simple yet detailed and practical advice on
100% NHS funded long term care see www.nhscare.info".
When journalists contact you asking for a "personal angle",
ask them to "return the favour" and mention www.nhscare.info.
Giving a local talk ? See Robin's
briefing slides, then if you are
on broadband, see how NOT to give the presentation by
looking at the
30 minute video.
Robin can do better, and so might others :-)
See above for "contacting us and getting help from Robin ..."
Visit
Steve's message board
and
MissLawBore's Forum;
share your experiences with others; you are not alone.
from Robin:
For many years I've mentioned the "core group on NHSCare.info",
or "our band of brothers - and sisters". The term "band of brothers" originates from Shakespeare’s
Henry V and "
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers".
The sister is, of course, Pamela Coughlan. The others include Derek Cole,
David Gooch, Stephen Squires, Ian Perkin, Bleddyn Hancock and myself. i.e. those
most active in providing free information on www.nhscare.info and in
furthering our cause to make the NHS and Government obey the law. I would
like to thank these fellow-campaigners, and the many more who are fighting
their own cases, or simply helping us "spread the word": Thankyou.
The picture below was taken at Derek's 80th Birthday Party in March 2011.
From left to right, that's Robin Lovelock, Derek Cole, and Ian Perkin.
We have been on this www.NHScare.info web site since 2003.
You may not know how recently Derek provided input: it was April of 2015.
See
Robin's pre-Election message !
Ian Perkin was the finance director of St George's NHS Trust in London for 12 year until 2002.
In 2001, he blew the whistle when he discovered that the Trust had altered figures on the number of cancelled operations.
He is now a treasurer of a Police Authority.
See what Ian had to say to Panorama
here.
Copyright: the picture of Pam Coughlan is APEX copyright and is reproduced here with permission. You may regard all other information
on www.nhscare.info as Public Domain. Robin welcomes use of this material to support Coughlan
related claims and inform the public. This page was last updated on 18th May 2017.
Please mention www.nhscare.info
If the patient's health care need is equal to, or greater than that of Pamela Coughlan,
then under the law,
they qualify for Continuing Care.
Watch the
video of Pamela Coughlan,
then ask yourself if the patient needs less care than Pam.
simple advice for solicitors ...
"The judgment in Coughlan clearly establishes that where a person's primary need is for health care, and that is why they are placed in nursing home accommodation, the NHS is responsible for the full cost of the package. "
- from the
summary
of the Law Society's
Evidence
to the House of Commons Health Committee Inquiry into NHS Continuing Care.
simple advice for NHS and Social Services staff ...
from Robin ...
It was in 2002 that my late mother was discharged from hospital
into a nursing home. By pure luck my Aunty Joy gave me the newspaper
clipping "Elderly cheated of free care" originating from Paul Burstow, MP.
Not long after, I was put in touch with Derek Cole and this web site was born.
I'm sorry if nhscare.info has a "folksy" and unprofessional flavour -
I do my best to present the information and advice clearly,
without it appearing "shrill". This is not easy when dealing with
the fact that hundreds of thousands of people continue to be cheated out of
money by NHS/Social Services to the tune of what must now be tens of billion of pounds.
Please start by reading my simple
overview
of "Coughlan" to understand what this is all about.
Visit my
mother's case page
and read some of the letters, including those to senior politicians.
Need to know more about me ? then
click here.
Most of my family have no political affiliations: to know more, see
Robin, June, and Politics.
I find keeping a sense of humour helps:
Jokes about Lawyers may bring a smile to your face - it does not neglect
us "older ones" or blonde nurses :-)
contacting us and getting help from Robin ...
thank you Pamela Coughlan
We would all like to thank Pamela Coughlan, who at great effort and expense,
paved the way over many years in fighting her case, leading eventually to
the Appeal Court decision in 1999 now known simply as "Coughlan".
Robin first spoke to Pam in 2003, and Pam is happy for us to repeat her
words first quoted after Ann Abrahams' report was released in February:
"I am delighted with the Ombudsmans' decisions. This reconfirms that the NHS
has cheated people out of the free care they deserve. Elderly people
and their relatives face an assault course if they want to complain.
They have to go through endless complaints procedures, tribunals
and complaints convenors to get to the Ombudsman. It's shameful
that the Government guidance put the burdon on these helpless people."
thank you Derek Cole ...
Derek's Page has
much of the early information on NHSCare.info, which originated from Derek Cole.
Derek once described himself as an "... old retired Headmaster and only an academic lawyer".
Robin is extremely grateful to Derek, who provided
invaluable legal advice, and assistance in writing the many letters required for
Robin's mother's case.
Derek and Robin would like to thank those, such as Steve Squires and David Gooch,
who successfully won their own cases,
and have shared information to help others.
There is no way that any one of us could
cope with the deluge of work related to many tens of thousands of families who might
discover that they have a claim to make: however, we hope these pages will
be of practical help in both "understanding and doing".
information for the Press and a plea from Robin ...
Please try and understand, and then print or broadcast, the simple and important facts of any story,
with some
ADVICE.
e.g. the Law demands that the NHS pay ALL care home costs, if the patient needs as much care as
Pam Coughlan
.
Little has changed, but the facts are now even clearer.
We ask that the NHS, Social Services and the Government
obey the law.
This is NOT "thousands of people and millions of pounds"
- it's
"hundreds of thousands of families and tens of billions of pounds".
See
What the Media Report and Parliament
for
the £250,000 win of care home fees in 2010 by the family of a war veteran, aided by a law firm
who have already won back over £9 million from the NHS for their many clients;
Stephen Johnson's win of £50,000.
Play back recent broadcasts such as Steve Squires on BBC Radio Solent
or others within our campaign group on TV.
Panorama broadcast their "National Homes Swindle" programmes in 2006.
See what Ian had to say to Panorama
here.
Our group were the
primary source
for Panorama and numerous other broadcasts and newspaper articles,
such as the Daily Mail's "How YOU can win back money on unfair care costs".
Ian Perkin won his case: see the
message from Ian.
- Bleddyn Hancock, former General Secretary of NACODS in Wales. The NACODS press release is
here.
See Bleddyn on TV
here , and in "the politics show" on
Stephen Johnson's site
.
Derek Cole and Ian Perkin appeared in the Channel 4 TV News in April 2005,
triggered by release of the
Commons Select Commmittee report.
You may read Derek's summary of his evidence given to the committee
here
and his full report is
here.
Derek's expert legal advice given to MPs in November 2004 is
here.
"It is unlawful to ask the patient to pay and we will not pay"
- from Derek Cole's address to a pensioners group
here.
"Mary has long thought I will end in the Tower. She is now convinced it will be the axe."
- from
a speech by Derek
Read Ian Perkin's letter in the September 2006 Public Finance Magazine
here under
"A challenge to NHS legality"
Charities, Unions, Care Homes, Insurance, Financial Services, etc ...
help us "Spread the Word" ...
Watch the three minute
video of Pam Coughlan
The above link to PAM.WMV is 5MB. A DVD-quality version is available from Robin for solicitors and journalists.
Who else can help me ?
Steve Squires, on the right, offers help - see
The Steve Squires Page.
The "reserve" NHSCare message board
has been moved to
NHSCare.multiply.com
.
You may find this
Frequently Asked Questions
page usefull - kindly supplied by NACODS.
Tried
www.google.com
? e.g. to document it is a HEALTH condition. e.g.
"what is alzheimers",
"MS",
"MND", etc.
You can read
Ian Perkin's legal submission
which resulted in Continuing Care for his mother
on our
advice for solicitors page.
Robin Lovelock, editor of nhscare.info,
has his details on the
contact page
and his mothers' case is
here
Derek's Page provides detailed information and advice from Derek Cole,
our expert legal advisor.
David Gooch (on the right) passed away on 13th October 2011 :
you may wish to read
David's Story. Thank you David - from all of us.
Andrea Dooley has MND and won her case: please visit
Andrea's Page
Get a Court Order for £60 ? - see
The Steve Squires Page
Have a Judicial Review for £210 ? - see
Monica & Judy's page
Danger with "No Win No Fee" claims - see advice on
Derek's Page
the band of brothers - and sisters
"With those close to me affected, I feel strongly about the issues surrounding mental health. So I found your account of your stay in Bluebell Ward and your 'inside story' of the NHS mental health system in general, absolutely fascinating and extremely insightful. I really appreciate you taking the time to get in touch and I have enclosed a booklet in which I wrote a chapter about mental health when I was first elected in 2005, which you may find interesting. As your MP ...." etc.
Note from Robin: Adam's is Chapter 1 of the book: "the forgotten ... new thinking on society's most vulnerable people, from the Class of 2005 Conservative MPs". Published in Oct 2006 by The Class of 2005. ISBN 0-951909-5-9 Chapter 1, "The Great Depression" is ~23 pages starts with a excellent overview of mental health within society, then concentrates on "Depression", concluding with specific recommendations, the first of which was: 1) Tackle Stigma - ending with "... my key recommendation is that national figures should speak freely about depression and mental health disorders". Maybe Adam was 10 years ahead of his time ? Famous personalities (I'm certainly not one) have signed a petition, and "come out" on their personal interest in Mental Health issues.
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