POWYS’ health board has been criticised for taking more than three years to decide whether the NHS should meet on-going care costs for three people.

Powys Teaching Health Board must now pay £125 to three men in recognition of the "considerable delay" they experienced waiting for decisions to their retrospective applications for the health service to fund continuing healthcare needs.

It has been revealed at least one of those whose care costs must be reimbured has already died.Hugh James Solictiors acted for Stephen Nicholls, of Cardiff, whose mother Megan Nicholls was admitted to a care home in Cardiff in 2003 following a period of ill health. She resided in care until January 2015, when she sadly passed away, aged 87.Mrs Nicholls suffered from Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia so was totally reliant on care staff to meet her needs. She was eventually deemed eligible for NHS continuing care in 2013, after ten years of paying full care costs.Stephen Nicholls said: “I’m so glad that the oombudsman has recognised how this mismanagement has impacted our lives. I fully appreciate the difficulties the public sector bodies face, due to lack of resources, but a five year delay is unacceptable.“While we welcome this report, we’re still left frustrated that we haven’t come to a resolution. It’s so disappointing that my mum died before a conclusion could be reached. In an ideal world we wouldn’t have had this distress towards the end of her life.”

The health board, which had been given responsibility for deciding on-going care cost applications from across Wales, must also make a similar payment to anyone else who had hadn’t received a decision by September 7, 2017 and had been waiting more than two years.

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Nick Bennett, who investigated the complaints and ordered the payouts, said the health board admitted during his investigation it still has some 330 claims to review. He ruled the failure to determine the claims in time is maladministration and upheld the complaints submitted to him.

He said: "Frustratingly, this is a case of justice delayed, justice denied. While I am mindful of the fact that the health board is currently dealing with a large number of claims, and has experienced difficulties in recruitment, clearly Welsh Government guidance has not been complied with and the complainants have been left with a great deal of uncertainty during this period."Powys Teaching Health Board has accepted the recomendations and apologised.

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