22 Armitage Court, Sunninghill, Ascot, Berks SL5 9TA.
Tel: 01344 620775 email: robin@nhscare.info
Our Ref: AGECON2.RTF 28th August 2003

Gordon Lishman OBE, Director General, Age Concern England
Astral House, 1268 London road, London SW16 4ER.

Copies:
Age Concern Information Line, Linhay House, Ashburton, Devon, TQ13 7UP.
Geoff Chivers , Age Concern, St Andrews House, Wilton Road, Reading, Berks RG30 2SS.
Pamela Coughlan, Derek Cole, Stephen Squires, David Gooch (by email).
www.nhscare.info, Others as required.

Dear Mr Lishman,

Subject: Age Concern Factsheets, Coughlan & www.NHSCare.info

I am the editor of www.nhscare.info, the 'Coughlan Campaign' website. I am supported by Pamela Coughlan, Derek Cole and the winners of the Dorset and Berkshire Ombudsman's rulings: Steve Squires and David Gooch. We, along with Paul Burstow, MP, have done much to raise public awareness of this £10 billion scandal. More importantly, nhscare.info provides practical and detailed guidance to those wishing to claim their right to 100% NHS funding of long term care.

I hope you will consider the urgent distribution of a slip of paper to be attached to all Age Concern Literature currently being supplied by Age Concern, Social Services and others, relevant to the funding of long term care. This includes Factsheets 10, 18, 20, 22, 32, 37, 38, 40, and Age Concern leaflets related to Norwich Union long term care insurance.

The slip might include words such as, "Should you be paying the care home fees ? The Ombudsman's Report, published in February 2003, confirmed that the NHS should pay 100% of care home fees for any patient whose primary needs are health needs.. This followed clarification of the law by the Court of Appeal in 1999 - the "Coughlan judgment". Information is available in Age Concern Factsheet 20. Advice is on www.nhscare.info".

In the longer term you may feel this subject - the unlawful denial of some £10 billion of NHS funding - deserves a single page A4 leaflet. However, we see the urgent need is for an attached slip such as that above, since the readers of your Factsheets may not see "the wood for the trees". In fact, I was first made aware of this problem when Social Services gave me Factsheet 10 to support the misinformation they continue to give families.

I hope you can give this your urgent attention and look forward to receiving your reply.

Yours Sincerely,

Robin Lovelock