The health service watchdog has received more than 3,000 complaints since February from elderly and disabled people being charged for long-term care which they believe should be available on the NHS.

A spokeswoman for the DoH told ePolitix.com: "Seven out of 10 people already get some or all of their personal care costs paid for by the state. The government believe that it is fairer to spend the £1 billion cost of providing free personal care (something that will only ever benefit the better off) on improving services for all older people who need them, enabling older people to be more independent and to delay, or even avoid, the need for them to enter residential or nursing home care.

"What older people tell us is that improvements in the quality and choice of care is as important as funding. We could spend the additional £1 billion the government is making available annually for improvements in service delivery on giving people free personal care, but we would not buy a single extra bed, not a single extra service, nor a single break for a family carer.

"We have reacted vigorously to the Ombudsman's previous report in February. Following our instructions, Strategic Health Authorities have now agreed new criteria and will recompense the cost of care wrongly denied, subject to a full investigation of the facts in each case.

"Whilst presenting oral evidence to the Public Administration Select Committee the Health Ombudsman, Mrs Abraham, praised the 'extremely constructive and responsive way that they [the department] have worked with us' and that 'the response has been real and there is a lot of activity and a good dialogue with the Department'.

"We've introduced a new requirement that means that before people leave hospital, the NHS is required to assess them for continuing care, a move welcomed by Age Concern.

"Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts are working hard to deal with local enquiries arising from the Ombudsman's report. Any individual who feels that they have been affected by this should contact their local strategic health authority."

Forum Response: Help the Aged

Jonathan Ellis, Policy Manager, Health and Social Care, for Help the Aged, said: "Yet again, the Health Service Ombudsman has highlighted the total inadequacy of systems to ensure that older people with continuing care needs have their care properly funded by the NHS.

"This is an issue in urgent need of attention. It is grossly unfair that older people are being forced to pay for services that are the responsibility of the NHS. Help the Aged believes that a far simpler system would be to have a single national set of eligibility criteria for what is meant to be, after all, a National Health Service."