Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will investigate the reasons for the delay in agreeing the rate for NHS-funded nursing care for residents of care homes in 2016-17.

Alistair Burt

Mazars LLP were appointed to carry out an independent review of the costs of nursing care by a registered nurse. Mazars’ report[1] recommends that the National Health Service-funded nursing care rate should be £156.25 – 40% higher than the 2015/16 rate. The Government has taken on board Mazars’ recommendation, meaning the rates paid by clinical commissioning groups for eligible care home residents assessed to require the help of a registered nurse are now as follows:

― standard rate – £156.25 per week; and

― higher rate – £215.04 per week (this is only relevant for those people who were already on the higher rate in 2007 when the single band was introduced).

These rates will be backdated to 1 April 2016 for individuals who were in receipt of NHS-funded Nursing Care from that time and paid on an interim basis whilst regional variation and the element of the rate for staff working on an agency basis are reviewed.

[1] http://www.mazars.co.uk/Home/Our-Sectors/Public-Services/Health/NHS-Funded-Nursing-Care-Review

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