title: The NHS Plan - funding nursing care.
abstract: The NHS Plan ( DoH 2000 ), published last year, emphasises improved care for older people. Key within it is the proposal that older people in all settings will receive free NHS nursing care by October this year. This is good news for older people living in nursing homes and who are at present paying for their nursing care. The Royal Commission on long term care ( 1999 ) recommended that all personal and nursing care should be funded, but this has been rejected by the government, which has said nursing care, but not personal care, will be free, thus creating an artificial divide between the two. As nurses who work with older people will know, integration of services and care approaches are necessary to maximise the older person's potential, and respond to their expressed needs and wishes.
authors.forename: Jayne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Are Development Fellows, RCN Gerontological Nursing Programme.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pritchard