Guest blog by Alison Giraud-Saunders, Learning Disability England’s volunteer representative on the CHC Alliance and the NHS CHC national stakeholder group.
NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC for short) is funding from the NHS for a complete package of health and associated social care needs for an adult.
Eligibility depends on whether a person is assessed as having a “primary health need”.
The assessment of eligibility takes into account the “nature, complexity, intensity and unpredictability” of the person’s needs.
The Department for Health and Social Care has just published an updated National Framework for NHS CHC and NHS-funded nursing care.
The update brings the Framework into line with the new Health and Care Act 2022.
The easy read explanation is still being updated.
The web page says it will be published “in due course”.
Children’s continuing care is quite different.
It is funding from the NHS for “additional health support to that which is routinely available from GP practices, hospitals or in the community”.
Young people who received children’s continuing care funding are not automatically eligible for NHS CHC when they become 18.
The Framework document explains how this should be looked at during the planning for adult life.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have brought together the separate teams they had working on adult NHS CHC and children’s continuing care.
The new combined approach is called the All Age Continuing Care programme.
They hope this will result in better joined up support from the different funding sources.
They are keen to work with people who have direct experience of continuing care, whether as individuals and family members, health and social care staff or interested organisations.
Learning Disability England is a member of the national ‘CHC Alliance’ – voluntary organisations campaigning for fair and effective NHS CHC processes.
Do you have recent experience (good or bad) with NHS CHC or children’s continuing care that you would be willing to share?
If so, please email Alison Giraud-Saunders, who is the volunteer representative for Learning Disability England on info@LDEngland.org.uk.