Continuing Healthcare Report

Report - 12 December 2023

The latest Healthwatch Lambeth report explores the experiences of service users and carers when applying for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding.

Continuing Healthcare refers to NHS funding for adults with long-term health and care needs that are intense, complex, or unpredictable. The package fully covers residential and care costs and, unlike local authority funding, is not means tested. To determine eligibility for funding, applicants have their needs assessed by a team of professionals.

The study found a lack of information about the CHC was prevalent, as all respondents were initially unaware of the programme before applying for funding and struggled to navigate the application system. A lack of a clear point of contact, high rates of staff unavailability, delays in the process and uncertainty surrounding provision of care were identified as issues for patients accessing CHC.

The report includes the following recommendations:

  • Communication with service users and carers should be improved throughout the process.
  • Improved public-facing independent information should be produced explaining what CHC is, how people can access it, and the process for applying.
  • Service users should have a clear point of contact, to address concerns or questions they have, including after funding has been agreed.
  • All professionals should have an understanding of eligibility criteria for CHC, and familiarity with decision tools used.
  • Care providers should be prepared, knowledgeable and confident about what information they need to contribute for a high-quality CHC decision to be made by the panel.
  • The panel should adhere to the 28-day decision timeline.
  • Service users who need additional support to navigate the process should receive it.
  • We recommend Lambeth use the National Framework as a baseline when undertaking their review of CHC and ensure all aspects are implemented.

Healthwatch Lambeth CEO Mairead Healy commented,

“It’s clear from our research that there are several areas for improvement in relation to Lambeth residents' experiences accessing continuing healthcare funding. We thank our statutory partners for facilitating us to undertake this important piece of research and will continue working with them to ensure our recommendations identified in this report are taken on board to ensure an improved experience for patients and their carers.”

Full Report

Continuing Healthcare Report
Download (PDF 698 KB)

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