Getting care funded by the NHS

[chopinfan]

Yesterday I posted on getting social care.

But if a person has health problems, they may qualify for their care to be funded by the NHS. This is known as continuing healthcare. It is not means tested.

It may surprise you that challenging behaviour, communication difficulties, psychological and emotional problems and cognition (understanding things) can be regarded as health needs.

The start point is to ask for an initial assessment using a checklist - gov.uk/government/publicati... - to be completed by the person’s GP or social worker or other trained health professional. The person’s health needs are scored against 11 categories. If they score highly enough, they will go on to a full assessment using a document called the decision support tool - gov.uk/government/publicati...

There is an easy read guide on the gov.uk website - assets.publishing.service.g...

The checklist and tool for children under 18 are different - assets.publishing.service.g...

[Hello1959]

Just going through this for our son .

But listening to others who have done it it seems extremely hard to get is that correct .

[chopinfan in reply to Hello1959]

Yes, in my experience, it is difficult. There are various reasons for this. One is that the people doing the initial checklist assessment don't always know the rules around it. They are also under pressure not to put too many people forward for a full assessment, because of lack of resources.

You need to read the NHS framework on continuing healthcare: gov.uk/government/publicati...

Make sure the person doing the initial checklist follows it properly. If your son is declined at first instance, think about appealing. If you get to the point where there is a full assessment, make sure you get lots of evidence from professionals involved in his care. Try to get them to attend the meeting at which his health needs are scored, as the scores are done by a vote around the table. And again, if the result is not what you think his condition deserves, appeal.

I hope it goes well.

[Hello1959 in reply to chopinfan]

Thank you. We have had the initial assessment and passed that . We are now waiting for the full assessment. We were told it’s a long waiting list .

[makka_pakka]

Thanks Sarah, I am following this up with our Social Worker

[KirstyJulie]

Hello, Just beginning the process of finding suitable long term care for my daughter who currently resides at home at age 32. I have been told that I should have a legal status regarding her health and wellbeing. Do you know how I would obtain this status and if it is relevant ? Thanks