Judge's ruling could lead to thousands of refund claims from Northern Irish care homes says Commissioner for Older People

Mr Lynch said the upshot is that not only could new applicants for care home places now be means-tested differently, but those already paying for their stays in a care home could have their money returned to them.

He said that over the last several years some 40 people had come to him with concerns about the criteria used to award people free places in care homes, as opposed to having to pay from their own pockets.

But the true figure could run into the hundreds, or even thousands, he added.

Here, in simplified form, is what the judgement this week means according to the Office of the Commissioner for Older People.

The whole story hinges on something called the Department of Health's Continuing Health-Care policy (CHC).

This is a set of rules which took effect in 2010, designed to sort out who should be put up for free in care homes and who should have to pay.

It basically sorted people into two categories: those needing "health care" (serious) and those needing "social care" (less serious).

If someone was deemed to need "health care", then they would be put up in a care home for free.

However, if someone was judged to need only "social care", then they would have to pay for a care home themselves, usually at a cost of about £600 to £800 per week, with a minimal government subsidy of £100 per week.

There was an exception though: If a person had assets (savings, a house, a car, etc) worth less than £23,250, they would be able to get free care home accommodation regardless of their "health care" or "social care" status.

However, it was argued that the way "health care" was being distinguished from "social care" was extremely unclear, with different trusts applying different standards.

To try and fix this, the government brought in a new rule in 2021 which said free care home access depended on a single question: "Can your care needs be met properly in any other setting other than a hospital?"

If the answer was deemed to be 'yes', then they had to pay their own care home costs.If the answer was 'no', they would get a place for free (though the £23,250 exception still applied).

This week Mr Justice Scoffield ruled in Belfast's High Court that the 2021 policy must be done away with.

This means the old 2010 policy applies – although it too is now set to be reviewed as a result of the judgement, said the commissioner.

Mr Lynch told the News Letter that his challenge to the CHC had been taken in the name of a man who felt he was entitled to free care.

"The judge is basically saying the department needs to go back and put in a new process so a fair assessment can be made of his case," said Mr Lynch.

"If that finds out that actually he was entitled to it, and I think there's a very strong possibility he'd meet the criteria for continuing healthcare, the judge has said if that's the case he should be reimbursed all his care home fees he has paid for the last six years.

"And he's paying £25,000 a year. So that's what it means. And that's one person.

"We have about 40 cases on our books of people who have contacted us on this issue over a number of years, and we're currently in the process of going out right now to people, talking to them about what this judgement means and what the options are.

"But there is scope here for people to go back and challenge that they should've got a fair assessment.

"And if it can be proven their condition at the time would qualify for this then there is a case to be made for people getting refunds.

"That's why it's so significant for those older people and their families."

He said that the 40 clients he knows of is "probably the tip of the iceberg".

"It's likely to be at the very least hundreds of people," he said.

"But it could easily be in the thousands as well. It's just very hard to know at this stage."

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