What has the ombudsman discovered?

The health ombudsman investigated four cases brought to her attention where individuals and their families were ordered to pay the costs of their long term care. She found that these people should have received the care for free and has ordered health authorities to reimburse those involved.

Why is this significant?

The ombudsman only investigated four cases. However, she says she has "a cluster of complaints" from others.

Charities say they believe these four cases are just the "tip of the iceberg" and that "thousands of people" are probably in a similar situation.

Why has the mix-up occurred?

The ombudsman found that health authorities use different criteria to decide who is entitled to free care. She says many fail to follow Department of Health guidelines on the issue.

Her report suggests officials have also failed to take a 1999 court ruling into account, which declared the costs of long term care must be met by the NHS if the needs of the patient are primarily health-related.

Who will receive compensation?

The ombudsman has told health authorities to review their files and to see if they may have wrongly ordered others to pay for long term care.

Any individuals who require long term care because they have an underlying medical condition which prevents them from looking after themselves will, in theory, be entitled to their money back.

What is the government doing to resolve the situation?

The Department of Health says it started to tackle the problem last year when some of these cases first came to light ordering health authorities to review the criteria they use to determine who is entitled to free long term care.