Man to be refunded over £84k

Man to be refunded over £84k

Man is to be refunded over £84k from Nottingham City Council for wrongly paying care home costs.

A man who spent 17 years wrongly paying towards the cost of a care home he was staying in will be refunded more than £84,000 by Nottingham City Council.

The patient was discharged from hospital in September 1999 and placed into a residential home by the authority.  

He made contributions to the cost of the service until May 5 this year, when his after aftercare status was recognised.  The law states that health and social services have a duty to provide free aftercare to certain patients who have been detained under the Mental Health Act after their release from hospital.

Nottingham City Council has now agreed to reimburse the man the £84,434.80 he paid, which includes any interest accrued during that period.

Helen Jones, director of adult social services at the council, said: "People who receive care under certain sections of the Mental Health Act do not have to pay for social care services. Unfortunately, this was not picked up when this person's residential care package was first arranged in 1999. This rarely happens – and we've made sure the money is refunded as quickly as possible."

The council will also set aside money to meet the cost of future claims, which come under section 117 of the Mental Health Act.

The decision, which was made on October 24, said: "This is necessary because it is difficult to ensure that 117 entitlement is always picked up at the point that services are provided. Whilst the vast majority of cases are identified it is likely that, going forward, further cases may be identified where 117 was not established."