The NHS’s Continuing Healthcare funding or ‘CHC’ includes a process which allows individuals with primary care needs to recover care fees. This ensures that those who are eligible for NHS CHC funding can receive the care they require without any financial hiccups or burden on both themselves and their families. There is no means testing.
Understanding continuing healthcare funding
To understand what Continuing Healthcare Funding is, we should to take the following aspects into consideration:
- A checklist assessment and Decision Support Tool (DST) helps determine if a person’s care needs qualify for NHS Continuing Care funding.
- The initial checklist assessment also determines if an individual needs to go through DST for further evaluation to help them qualify for funding.
- The NHS is solely responsible for funding the entire care package, where they cover the cost of care and support at the individual’s home or pays it directly to the care home where the individual is admitted.
If you do not qualify for continuing care funding, you can work with a solicitor to appeal the decision.
What is CHC funding?
Many people find themselves wondering “what does CHC funding mean”, “what does CHC funding cover” or, for example, “what does CHC funding pay”. All of these are important questions to ask as many people in the UK don’t even know that they may be eligible for Continuing Healthcare funding, and so, end up paying out of their own pockets.
The NHS’s CHC funding is a completely free care package for adults who have significant long-term and primary health care needs. NHS CHC funding covers both care costs and nursing care, and it can be provided either in a care facility or the affected individual’s home, whichever one they choose or prefer.
What does CHC funding cover?
CHC funding covers three things primarily:
- Healthcare – These are services rendered by a nurse or therapist, including continence care as well as medication provision, and any therapies which may be needed.
- Personal care – This includes help with daily activities, such as dressing, washing, and laundry.
- Accommodation – This includes board and accommodation fees, including care home fees but not private rent or mortgage.
The CHC funding process
The CHC funding process involves two key elements: a screening tool and a thorough assessment. The entire process has been devised to quickly establish whether a person’s care needs are indeed primarily ‘healthcare needs’, so that they can receive the funding they are eligible for.
The screening tool is a checklist assessment which determines whether the affected individual’s care needs require a more detailed or in-depth assessment.
The DST (Decision Support Tool) form is a more in-depth assessment which is conducted by an MDT (multidisciplinary team) to assess the individual’s health and social/personal care needs. The MDT is responsible for reviewing information or evidence such as medical examinations and records.
The MDT relies on a standardised tool to finally establish if the individual in question qualifies for CHC funding.
It pays to familiarise yourself with what the assessment includes:
- The assessment sees the individual’s complete range of care needs, which include nutrition, mobility, behaviour, and cognition. In total, there are 12 unique care domains where the assessment denotes a need level to the individual through letters A, B, or C.
- If you are assessed to be eligible following the MDT’s assessment, funding usually begins within a few days and, sometimes, in as little as 2-3 days.
- If you are not eligible, you can appeal the decision by getting in touch with the local ICB (integrated care board).
If you personally paid for your care while awaiting the assessment’s decision, you may be able What does CHC funding mean?
CHC funding or Continuing Healthcare Funding is the term the NHS uses to describe a health care and social support package for adults with complex health needs. Funding is granted fully by the NHS and available to adults across England and Wales.
What does CHC funding pay for?
CHC funding pays for:
Care home fees – The NHS pays a flat fee to your care home directly
Home carers – The NHS will cover the cost of care, paying directly to your home carer
Medication – The NHS will also cover medical provision
Therapies – Any complex needs which require therapy is covered under NHS CHC funding
In order to receive NHS continuing care funding, you must have complex or unpredictable care needs which have arisen due to an accident, illness, or disability. You may also be eligible to receive it if you have dementia if your needs are assessed as being primarily health care needs.
Just to quickly recap what we discussed above:
- You begin the process for Continuing Healthcare funding by going through a screening test.
- If the screening test returns ‘positive’, you are put through a full assessment where your needs are recorded against 12 areas or domains.
- If you qualify, a medical professional or practitioner creates a CHC Support Plan for you
- The NHS will pay fully for your healthcare and social needs once they have been assessed.
