Right to Care is a coalition of organisations campaigning for all nursing and personal care to be free at the point of use across the UK.
It is 5 years since the government's Royal Commission in to long term care recommended that all nursing and personal care should be available on the basis of need, free at the point of use and funded from general taxation. Instead the Government chose only to fund nursing care
Currently thousands of people are paying for aspects of their care. There is widespread confusion about the funding of long term care and the current approach appears to deprive some patients of the free care that most us take for granted.
In the UK we are rightly proud of the equity that underpins our health service. Healthcare is available to all through the NHS and the cost shared fairly through the tax system. But many patients are missing out. People with conditions like dementia, arthritis or stroke often end up paying for their care themselves.
For them and their famillies this means coping with financial stress as well as their illness.
In Scotland the Parliament thought this was unjust and voted to provide state funding for personal care. Right to Care wants other parts of the UK to follow.
A MORI poll found that 75% of adults think the government should provide free personal care for all elderly people who need it.
And the BBC's poll for its Your NHS day found that free long-term care of the elderly was the public's top priority.
The government disagreed with its own Royal Commission and decided to fund nursing care, but not personal care. Organisations like the Royal College of nursing and Unison say that this distinction is artificial. They and the staff they represent agree that many of the tasks described as personal care, such as bandaging or help with feeding are part of the job of caring for a patient. Without this care health would undoubtedly suffer and so personal care tasks should be thought of as healthcare.
Around 70,000 sell their homes to pay for care. Many people work and save all their lives to buy their house. Most have paid tax on the understanding that their healthcare needs would be met. They have not had time to make any other provision.
Some have suggested that this is a fair way of funding long term care. But many of those who end up paying are not wealthy. The government own figures show that 61% of people who are judged as too rich for help from the state. The rules make all those with assets worth £19500 egible for the cost of their care.
Even after the government subsidised nursing care many people have been left with inadequate funding. Typical bills of £300 a week for personal care and accommodation mean that many people are still forced to sell their homes to pay for care.
Not all long term care is provided in care homes. Increasingly home care is ebing used as an alternative to long stays in hospital. It is therefore crucial that the principle of care free at the point of use is established, across all the setting that care is delivered.
The government says it has introduced free nursing care for older people in nursing homes. But nursing care is cash-limited and is being restricted to the care provided by a registered nurse. This means the care provided by nursing and healthcare assistants is classified as "personal care" and has to be paid for.
Scotland introduced state-funded personal care from July 2002 free nursing and personal care came a step closer thanks to the introduction of a series of grants and allowances for people receiving care.
Following pressure from the RTC campaign, Northern Ireland introduced free nursing care in October 2002 and funding for free personal care is under active consideration.
Meanwhile Wales is also looking again at funding for personal care.
These developments mean England is trailing far behind on the issue of funding for personal care.
The following organisations have joined in supporting the Right to Care campaign: