In this article we’re bringing you 28 useful links from our website to help you apply and appeal for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding.
NHS Continuing Healthcare is NHS funding that covers all the costs of care for people who meet certain criteria. It’s possibly the NHS’s best kept secret.
Thousands of families are never told about this funding by the care authorities. It is not means tested – and your relative may be entitled to it.
We’ve divided the links into sections, to help you whatever stage of the process you’re at…
New to care fees?
Don’t pay a penny in care fees until you’ve read these articles:
1. Vital information about paying for care
2. NHS Continuing Healthcare frequently asked questions
3. 10 tips about care fees you may not know
4. What does NHS Continuing Healthcare funding cover?
5. In what places is NHS Continuing Healthcare available?
6. Getting the NHS Continuing Healthcare process started
7. What are the different stages of NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment and appeal?
8. So will you be self-funding?
In the middle of the NHS funding assessment process?
These links will help you understand more and keep going:
9. NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist assessment: 11 common mistakes
10. How to prepare for an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment: 15 top tips
11. NHS Continuing Healthcare – should a social worker be involved?
12. How the Care Act helps you with NHS Continuing Healthcare
13. 17 untruths about NHS Continuing Healthcare funding
14. 9 more untruths about NHS Continuing Healthcare
15. 3 points from NHS Continuing Healthcare guidance you may not know
16. Are you at your wit’s end with NHS Continuing Healthcare
17. How to keep going when the going get’s tough
18. The sticking point in all Continuing Healthcare assessments
19. How to stand your ground in NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments: 11 tips
Just secured NHS Continuing Healthcare funding?
Make sure the right things happen once you’ve got a positive funding decision:
20. What happens after a positive Continuing Healthcare recommendation?
21. NHS Continuing Healthcare funding and choice of care provider
22. Continuing Healthcare redress: new guidance on repayment of care fees
Relative in hospital?
Don’t answer any questions about your relative’s money or property until you’ve read these:
23. Why are elderly people wrongly charged for care?
24. NHS Continuing Healthcare and hospital discharge: the assessment game
25. Paying for care between hospital discharge and a funding decision
Going through an NHS Continuing Healthcare appeal?
These links will help you:
26. NHS Continuing Healthcare appeals: what to do first
27. Paying for care during an NHS Continuing Healthcare appeal
28. Is it worth me appealing a Continuing Healthcare funding decision?
Care To Be Different was set up by after the founder she won a tortuous four-year battle to secure Continuing Healthcare funding for both of her parents. Since then she has created one of the biggest online information resources specifically about NHS Continuing Healthcare – and specifically for families.
The Founder has also written a book, How To Get The NHS To Pay For Care, to help families get through Continuing Healthcare assessments and argue their case. It shows you what to do – and what not to do – and it can save you losing everything in care fees. It’s easy to follow and cuts through the confusion to show you step by step how things work.
“Two years ago, when in despair over the care home fees for my mum, we came across your website and we bought your book. Two years later, using the information it contained, we have just been informed that we are to receive a repayment of care home fees to the sum of £24,610.34. It’s the best £29 we have ever spent, so may we thank you for your brilliant help.”
Pauline Jordan
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Please can some one assist me. My mum sadly passed away in May after being in residential care from 2012 due to Alzheimers. In April 2019 mum had a fall in the care home and resulted in a fractured hip which left her fully dependent on care due to being in a wheelchair and requiring assistance via a hoist.
There was no reassessment in respect of funding and remained therefore self funding until her sad death on 24 May after succumbing to Sepsis .
Please help me someone on how i start to put together the letter seeking retrospective care funding from NHS
Thank you
Hi Pam – Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like some help with this. Kind regards 0161 979 0430
I am so desperate and don’t know where to go from here. My husband is very disabled and is currently in hospital waiting for discharge after 5 weeks aged 65. He has many health issues but the main one now is he is unable to lay flat due to back deformity and severe pain. He has therefore slept in a reclining position in the hospital bed for the duration of his stay. He is now ready for discharge. However, the hospital state they want to put a hospital bed into my tiny living room and have stated my three piece suite will have to go, plus rugs, tables etc. I am to get rid of my bed upstairs to change it into a living room. The bed will take up my whole living space. As he can’t lay down, I asked for a recliner which would best suit him. They have declined saying I have to find the money. He currently has 3 pressure sores so I need a specialised recliner which is beyond my budget. I am beside myself with the way they are proposing to reduce the quality of my life as well. I work full time and often, for 12-14 hours a day. They have told me to give him a bowl of water, flannel and soap before I go to work, a breakfast, prepare lunch putting it in my fridge and cook him a meal on my return from work. Is this seriously what my life has come to. I am not a carer but his wife. He will not be able to shower or get into the bath. The steps to our front door are too high for him to get up or down. All they are prepared to do is deliver a hospital bed and give him a rail around the toilet. That is it. PLEASE HELP! I seriously don’t know what to do. PALS are not interested.
Lorraine – you need to insist on them carrying out a CHC assessment as soon as possible. Read as much as you can from our website and look at the book which is sold via our online shop which is a self-help guide to securing funding from the NHS. Make sure that your social worker knows how stressful this is for you and that you need help. Do get in touch direct if you need to speak to us 0161 979 0430. Kind regards
Hi Lorraine – there have been a lot of replies to your question on our Facebook page if you would like to have a look. Kind regards https://www.facebook.com/CareToBeDifferent/
Lorraine – here is some helpful advice from one of our Facebook users:
Firstly REFUSE discharge from hospital until the correct care is in place at home to meet his needs. The hospital cannot lawfully discharge your husband unless he has the correct care and facilities in place. Secondly SS cannot instruct you to change your home if its detrimental to your way of life and well being. Family MUST be considered too. Their Framework says so. If your husband needs a downstairs room they need to look at putting in an adaptation and bathroom to enable him to be cared for properly. If he needs assistance toileting and showering then he needs carers to assist. Get SS to do a care needs assessment and get a written report of their findings. Be involved in it. After that you need to ask for a check list to be done and see if if they can provide that care without breaking the law. The Local authority cannot fund a package of care above their remit its illegal. If this is the case then you need a CHC assessment. Either way you need proper help. https://www.facebook.com/CareToBeDifferent/
I am confused
On page 26 of your free guide you say that social care is also paid for – to quote
“Once the assessment process is complete, and if your relative is found eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare after the second stage (the Multidisciplinary Team meeting and subsequent funding decision by the Clinical Commissioning Group), this funding will cover all social care needs as well as healthcare/nursing care needs. Your relative will not need to pay for any of their care – and should not be asked to. “
Yes, that’s correct, Mel. NHS Continuing Healthcare funding covers all care needs. https://caretobedifferent.co.uk/what-should-continuing-healthcare-funding-cover/
My daughter’s partner suffered a severe Subarachnoid Haemorrhage a year ago last Easter at the age of 48 and was admitted to the Neurological Unit of the Hospital. On admission he was placed in an induced coma for 5 weeks. During his stay there he has had further problems with a build up of fluid and pressure in the Ventricles and has had a permanent shunt fitted to drain the fluid. He also has a further Aneurysm that will be treated at a later date.
Last Friday at a Discharge meeting it was decided that he could be discharged to his home in a few weeks time.
His home happens to be my daughter’s rented accommodation, however he does own his own home which has been deemed unsuitable for various reasons.
He is able to sit on the edge of the bed and then be hoisted into a wheelchair. He can stand from the edge of the bed with the assistance of a device, He cannot walk at all and has difficulty standing. He has difficulty telling his limbs what to do – I think similar to Parkinsons disease. He often seems lucid, although he does have behavioural problems insofar he may do abnormal things to and with his food. He is able to use a self propelled wheelchair, albeit turning to the left at times. He is doubly incontinent catheter fitted. He is on several drugs to control blood pressure, anti clotting, Parkinson type shaking and Epilepsy type condition.
As he needs suppositories my daughter has been told she is not allowed to do this as he cannot give consent due to his lack of mental capacity.
It appears my daughter’s partner has been Initially Assessed at a meeting with his son, who is next of kin, his sister, my daughter, the medical team and someone from Social Services and the conclusion was he was not eligible for Continuing Healthcare.
Reading your website is this assessment likely to be correct ?
What, if any, are the alternatives with regard to my daughter’s partner’s house – does it have to be sold to pay for Social care if he is not eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare.
My mum is 96 and has been on NHS CHC for three years. A few months ago the nursing home sent me a letter saying I would now have to pay an additional £560 a month! It was called a top up fee in one letter he sent me and that has now changed to a “Lifestyle Choice” £100 a week because she has chosen to live in Wetherby ( not a choice as its where I live), and an additional £40 a week for lots of items – £3 a week for a TV in her room (its her TV), £4 a week for professional entertainers, £4 a week for her visitors taking a meal with her ( we never have) etc etc. We have refused to pay it and his letters have become awful. I brought in a solicitor who sent him a letter explaining that you cannot top-up NHS CHC and he has come back and said he is a private company and these are not care charges and he can charge exactly what he wants and if we don;t pay, mum will be kicked out of the home. I spoke to the NHS CHC who are responsible for mum, who agreed with him! They will pay no more and its up to me to find her a new home. They were so unhelpful. I spoke to the safeguarding team at the council and they wouldn’t help either. Any advice would be so helpful
My mother had a non-age-related bleed caused by an abnormality in her brain, 6 months ago, as a result, has significant and unpredictable health needs and disabilities (too many to list). Thank you for the publication – it has been so helpful. After persistently being told “All care is means tested”, “you know the NHS is strapped for cash”, “your mother will not be eligible, I’ve seen people a lot worse than her not qualify” and finally one professional agreeing that if Mum was 40 (as opposed to over 70) there would be no question that NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) would be applied for”, I have decided to seek legal advice (taking into consideration all your guidance). The resistance from “so-called” professionals, even to start the process of applying for CHC is unending. It is a VERY lonely place to challenge inaccuracies and point out that failure to follow proceedure is unlawful, but I am determined to pursue this. Without your publication – I may well have given up!! Wish me luck!!
Thanks for your very kind words about the information we publish, Alison – and well done for persevering through this process. The things you report are sadly not unusual. Hang in there!
I have secured a reimbursement of NHS Continuing Care for my late Mother after four years of dealing with my claim. I wish to know whether the interest received on the reimbursement monies is subject to Income Tax. HMRC do not seem to provide any clear advice on the head of charge under which this might be payable and despite considerable research I have not been able to find any clear reference to this form of repayment. In particular the Redress Guidance does not provide any information. I appreciate the calculation is subject to personal circumstances but there must be a statutory authority governing whether or not Income Tax is payable. I would be interested to know the experience of others.
Liz
Hello, I would just like to say well done for taking this up for your mother. I would like to find out if my mother is eligible for any help. She has dementia, amongst other illnesses. She is in a Care Home and this is the second one she has been in as the first one were not looking after her so I had to move her to another one. I am an only daughter and I am at my wits end, not knowing how to approach this matter of whether she could have any funding. She is self funding and has up until now spent in the region of £100,00 for her care. She does own a house, which I live in at the moment with my husband as we were looking after my mother here before she had to go into the home. Her money has now come down quite a lot and we have been informed that we will have to sell the house and we will have to find somewhere to live which is a worry for us at the ages of 56 and 66 respectively. I am my mother’s Deputy and sort all her finances out but am now very worried about what is going to happen. Could anyone help me at all please with some fast track advice. Thank you.
Sandra – this article will help you: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/how-do-you-know-if-a-continuing-healthcare-assessment-should-be-done/ Remember that Continuing Healthcare funding does not depend on any specific diagnosis; instead it looks at the whole picture of need. The funding also has nothing to do with you mother’s money – it doesn’t matter how much she does or doesn’t have. The only way to know if she would be eligible for Continuing Healthcare is to get the assessment process started. This will also help you: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/getting-the-nhs-continuing-healthcare-assessment-process-started/ Whoever told you you have to sell the house at this point is either ignorant of the Care Act or is trying to put you off getting your mother assessed. The first thing that should happen – always – is a Continuing Healthcare assessment, not a means test.
Sandra – two points here:
(1) your mum had to go into a care home in order to facilitate the provision to her of nursing and/or other healthcare services. From what you say, this was the sole aim. It follows from this that the supply of nursing etc., services are NEITHER incidental NOR ancillary to the provision of residential accommodation by the local authority. Under a proper interpretation the Standing Rules, she has a primary health need and is (or ought to be) eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC). This view is supported by case law;
(2) But putting (1) above to one side, your mum’s house MUST be disregarded (the local authority (LA) has no other choice) for the purposes of funding her social care and accommodation costs. See Dept of Health’s publication “Charging for Residential Accommodation Guide – England” (google it) and refer to Section 7 and specifically paras. 7.003 and 7.007. The property must be disregarded because you – or your husband – and it doesn’t matter which it is – is over 60. I’d be inclined to pursue this as a matter of urgency (and before taking up the NHS CHC point) directly with the LA Director of Social Services.
My mum’s checklist was completed on 9th August and the DST on 16th August. I have still not heard as to whether she will get any funding. I contacted the CCG on 18th September and was told that the nurse assessor was on annual leave. I e-mailed recently to find out if she is back yet and I still have no reply. It is now 22nd October. My mum was discharged on 17th August to a nursing home and is self funding at the moment. It seems that now she is ‘out of their hair’ the CCG are in no rush. Who can I contact to get a response?
Lynn – if your mum was discharged from a hospital on 17th August, the NHS should be picking up the bill in the interim, until the funding decision is made. Send all care home invoices to the NHS Continuing Healthcare team and quote the Care Act. This may also help: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/paying-for-care-between-hospital-discharge-and-funding-decision/ and so will this: http://caretobedifferent.co.uk/care-act-2014-helps-you-with-nhs-continuing-healthcare/ The assessment process is supposed to take 28 days max. If the NHS is delaying this, they must cover the cost of care in the meantime.
I have at last heard that my mother will not receive CHC but FNC with effect from 17th August. Should they be picking up the complete cost from 17th August until the date I received the funding decision?
I intend to appeal and have written to inform them if this. However I have now received a letter inviting me to meet with the CHC Clinical Lead to discuss my mum’s case before I appeal.