TOO many families in North Yorkshire and York are wrongly selling off their family home to pay for care home fees, according to the authors of a new guide launched by Gloria Hunniford.

The average cost of a UK nursing home is £738 per week – that’s almost £40,000 a year. But many families struggle needlessly to come up with the cash in a situation where they may be eligible for full funding from the NHS, although few people know about it specialist care funding solicitors Farley Dwek, which produced the new guide, have warned.

This is known as NHS Continuing Healthcare and is not means-tested. It is based on assessments of healthcare needs, such as mobility and severity of conditions, the firm said.

The latest figures, from 2013, show just 537 people in the old North Yorkshire and York PCT (now the four separate CCGs) were receiving continuing health care funding from the NHS.

There could be hundreds or thousands more who are missing out on financial support. Gloria Hunniford said: “The funding process can be complicated and not enough people understand it. Too many families feel as though there is a lack of help out there and are missing out on funding they are entitled to as a result.”

To download the free guide visit www.farleydwek.com