Long-term care: does the NHS owe you £80,000? Charities, solicitors and families with relatives in care said not enough was done to let people know about NHS funding. Michelle Mitchell, the director-general of Age UK, said: "The NHS needs to do more to make people aware of continuing healthcare, particularly for those families that may have been eligible in the past and are running out of time to make a claim." Daughne Taylor, Mr Beaman's daughter, said: "No other options were given. If we hadn't seen an article about a person who managed to claim back her mother's care fees, we wouldn't have known about NHS continuing healthcare. But we were told that Dad did not have enough medical problems to qualify for this funding. When we asked how ill a person had to be to qualify, we were told 'practically dead'. It made us more determined to fight Dad's case. Lawyers estimate that 100,000 families may have been eligible for NHS care, but far fewer have applied for a refund. So who may be able to make a claim? Unfortunately there are no clear-cut medical guidelines stipulating which conditions will qualify for NHS continuing care and which do not. Currently there is a "national framework" stating that if a person's primary need is a health one, he or she may be eligible for NHS continuing care. There are then further assessments, which look at the nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability of the condition, to determine whether he or she qualifies for NHS-funded care. The few who do qualify should have all care costs paid by the NHS, regardless of their financial position or where they are receiving treatment. Those who don't qualify fall under local authority care, meaning patients are means-tested to assess their ability to pay towards their costs. Currently those with assets of more than £23,250 - which will often include the value of the family home - pay the lion's share themselves. With the average nursing home in the South East costing more than £36,000 a year, it's not hard to see how life savings can soon be depleted. But the Government has acknowledged that poor procedures have meant some people have wrongly been asked to pay care fees e_SEnD hence this opportunity to appeal. However, although local primary care trusts are supposed to have been publicising this, evidence suggests that very few are actively doing so. The onus has been on families to step forward and lodge a complaint. But, as Janet Davies of the advisory group Symponia pointed out, many are in a Catch-22 situation. Far too few people are aware that their relatives could have been awarded this NHS care, so may not know they have a valid case. Lisa Morgan of Hugh James solicitors said: "It's like a secret. The local health authorities don't mention NHS continuing care because it will cost them money, and even nursing homes keep quiet, because they know how difficult it is to claim. So how do families lodge an appeal? The first step is to notify your primary care trust of the complaint. This must be done by September 30 if you are claiming for a period between April 2004 and April 2011. This process doesn't cover just those in care now but also those who have received care over this period but have since died. Ms Morgan said: "All you need is basic information to lodge a complaint." This will include your relative's name, the address of the care home, and dates you are claiming for. Some trusts say you need to complete more complex application forms, but this is wrong. After this you will need to arm yourself with medical records, plus details of assessments carried out by the local authority. These may be obtainable from the nursing home or your relative's GP. You will also need to get to grips with the criteria used by your primary care trust to determine eligibility for NHS continuing care. Andrew Chidgey of the Alzheimer's Society said: "People looking to claim back costs should make sure they research the process fully before beginning. It isn't always necessary to engage a solicitor but it is a complicated area. Hannah McLuckie of solicitors Farley Dwek said: "As there are no clear-cut guidelines it can be very difficult to claim successfully, unless you have experienced legal help to know what to look for. Sadly, many think that this is deliberate, to reduce the numbers reclaiming these costs. Before appointing legal assistance, check what experience they have, and ask about fees. Some firms operate on a "no-win no-fee basis" - typically taking a quarter of any redress won - while others will give the option of paying hourly fees instead. Ms Morgan, for example, has been working in this area for more than six years and her firm has to date reclaimed more than £25m of long-term care costs. A good starting point is Solicitors for the Elderly (solicitorsfortheelderly.com, 0844 567 6173). There is also a wealth of information on the Age UK and Alzheimer's Society websites. This isn't just a historical problem. Recent figures from the Department for Health show that while the total number of claimants has increased in recent years, in some areas numbers have dropped considerably, suggesting that a "postcode lottery" still exists. Mr Chidgey added: "Continuing care has the potential to save some people from facing catastrophic care costs, but the system is too complicated and the current rules mean that the common symptoms of dementia are not given enough weight in the assessments." Ms Taylor added: "We weren't asking for anything that my father wasn't entitled to, but we were made to feel like a charity case. How is this upholding elderly people's dignity? It is criminal that our elderly are treated so badly.