DOZENS of elderly people in the town could have missed out on their right to free nursing care, according to Age Concern Swindon.

Mistakes in deciding who was eligible for NHS funding were picked up by a Health Ombuds-man's report in February this year.

The report found that people living in nursing homes were paying for care, when they should not have had to because local NHS bodies should have maintained full responsibility and met the cost.

And now a national review of patients discharged from NHS care between 1996 and February this year is under way.

More than 50 people from Swin-don have already contacted the town's Primary Care Trust to call for a review in their treatment.

But Swindon's branch of Age Concern fears this could be the tip of the iceberg and is keen to boost awareness of the issue.

The ombudsman recommended that patients who have been disadvantaged by wrongly applied criteria should be compensated. This could mean reimbursement of nursing home fees to individuals or their estates.

Jo Osorio, director of Age Con-cern Swindon, said: "We are keen to make people aware about the existence of this report by the Health Ombudsman. There are bound to be people in the town who are not aware about this problem.

"The Swindon Primary Care Trust NHS has been asked to review every relevant case by December 31 this year, but it would be useful if anyone who thinks they may have been affected to come forward.

"We are talking about anyone who received a significant amount of nursing care from 1996 until February this year."

To date, Swindon Primary Care Trust has been contacted by 50 people who felt they may have been affected. Of those, 36 have been referred by Age Concern. Each of these cases is now being reviewed.

Mr Osorio said the problems were rooted in difficulty interpreting the Government's Continuing Care Policy.

"The problems have been caused because NHS care for elderly people is quite a grey area."

Swindon Primary Care Trust's Director of Modernisation, Ann Nash, said: "This is an important issue and we have been working closely with Age Concern to identify those people who may have been affected.

"We aim to deal with all of the cases which have been referred to us by September"

Age Concern is offering to help anyone who thinks they may have been affected.

The Swindon branch has produced an advice pack giving detailed guidance on how to ask for a review and a letter to send to the Primary Care Trust.

Contact Age Concern on 692166 or write to 14 Milton Road, Swin-don SN1 5JE.

Members of the public can also contact the Primary Care Trust directly by calling 01793 708700.

The ombudsman's office runs a helpline on 0845 0154033.

www.ombudsman.org.uk