Husband Wins NHS Care Funding Appeal

A husband has won his fight to get the NHS to fully fund the care of his Alzheimer’s Disease sufferer wife. Pensioner John McIndoe was originally refused full funding to pay for round-the-clock care for his wife Christine – because regional health chiefs said her condition was not deteriorating rapidly enough.

Refusing to accept that decision, Mr McIndoe lodged an appeal. Following a similar case – that of chronically-ill Maureen Grogan who successfully challenged a decision by Bexley NHS Trust that she was not eligible for fully-funded NHS care – health bosses agreed to take a fresh look at Mr McIndoe’s situation and have now made a U-turn.

Yesterday he said: “It has come as such a relief and I’m sure it’s down, in no small part, to coverage of my story in The Journal.”

Sadly, the decision has come at a time when Christine’s condition has deteriorated considerably.

“She has had a lot of seizures, medication isn’t working for her, and her doctors have said there’s nothing else that can be done,” said Mr McIndoe, 75, of Western Way, Darras Hall, Ponteland. “I’m just glad I’m not still fighting for funding at the same time as going through that.

“I feel so sorry for those who are still fighting to get the right treatment. I just hope mine and Christine’s situation has helped to give others the strength to appeal wrong decisions.”

Mrs McIndoe, also 75, a former district nurse, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s four years ago. She can only say odd words, needs a wheelchair, and help with feeding, bathing and dressing. Despite that Northumberland Care Trust – which used to employ Mrs McIndoe – refused to fully fund her care. The trust said her condition was not “challenging” or “deteriorating rapidly” enough to fit its eligibility criteria.

Mr McIndoe, a retired works director, was forced to pay £600 a month from his pension towards her £2,000 care bill, with the trust and social services picking up the rest. He was devastated at having to move Christine, his wife of 52 years, into a nursing home – and even more so when he was told her condition was not serious enough to be paid for.

She needs 24-hour care at Lindisfarne Care Home in Crawcrook, Gateshead, where Mr McIndoe visits her every day. An appeal was lodged with Northumberland Care Trust. It was referred higher up to the region’s Strategic Health Authority, which asked the care trust to take another look at Mr McIndoe’s situation in light of the Grogan case.

A spokeswoman for Northumberland Care Trust said: “We recognise that this has been a difficult time for this family and we are now pleased, in the light of new guidance, to be able to fund Mrs McIndoe’s care under the NHS Continuing Health Care scheme.”