Charity slams NHS postcode lottery

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The charity said it used information supplied by the Department of Health.

New continuing care figures showed Derby City Primary Care Trust (PCT), as of March 31, was giving just seven people continuing care, which represents 0.26 people per 10,000.

Age Concern contrasted the figures with Harrow PCT, which was giving 826 people continuing care.

At a rate of 41.75 per 10,000 people this was 160 times higher than Derby. Age Concern said this was despite Harrow having 75,000 fewer people and a younger population in its area.

Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: "These new figures beggar belief. Individuals face a postcode lottery in getting NHS continuing care. There can be no justification for such huge variations in access to care."

Staff in PCTs interpret local criteria to determine who is eligible for continuing NHS health care in their area, Age Concern said.

From October 1, there will be a national framework and a national decision support tool which will continue to be interpreted by PCT staff, which has been welcomed by the charity.

It said the new criteria would increase the numbers of people receiving continuing care by about 7,000 at a cost of £220 million.

This would mark the third year of significant increases to the numbers of people getting continuing care - rising last year from 25,000 to 31,000. But it would still leave around 60,000 people missing out on the continuing care they are legally entitled to, the charity warned.