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Keep up to date with our take on all the latest developments and news covering all aspects of NHS Continuing Healthcare
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Being told you have to sell your house to pay for care is one of the biggest fears many people face. What makes this even more stressful for people is that in some cases, it is not necessarily true. People with mental health conditions may qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding. Take a recent client – we will call him Michael. Michael has spent years caring for his...
What do we really know about the experiences of those going through NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility assessments? If someone is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare this should cover both their health and social care costs. If the NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment finds they are not eligible, the individual may have to pay some or all of their social care costs. However, this depends upon their assets, savings and...
If you have never heard of NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC) don’t worry. You are far from alone. It’s amazing how many people don’t realise that the NHS should pay full care fees for those with a “primary health need”. People who are eligible should receive it however much money they have in the bank or whether or not they own their own home. But who is eligible? And how...
NHS England’s latest plan to improve delays to NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments – published on August 17th – appears to promote positive progress. In reality, it may be the biggest anti-climax of the summer since Venus Williams and Marin Cilic crashed out of Wimbledon in straight sets. After the damning, forensic report on NHS CHC assessments by the Government’s own watchdog, the National Audit Office, in July, we expected NHS...
Independent social care providers are waiting with baited breath for the outcome of the latest judicial review on council care fees. The case centres on the 2014 Care Act, which set high expectations for care of the most vulnerable in our society. It promised a vision for person-centred, wellbeing-based decision-making when meeting social care needs. This was to be based on a dialogue between public sector commissioners, care providers and service users...
Last week, former EastEnders actor John Partridge revealed his mum died penniless after she had to sell her home to pay for social care. It’s a story that highlights the importance of fighting for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding. The NHS CHC is paid regardless of assets. John’s mum Bridget died three weeks ago, after a seven-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She eventually moved into a £45,000-a-year care home when...
People in the North East of England who sell property to pay care fees in old age use up their property’s value quicker than anywhere else in the UK, according to recent figures. Many people in later life have to sell their home (unless they have a partner still living in it) to meet the costs of residential care. Only if you have less than £23,250 in assets can you apply to the local authority for means-tested assistance. According to figures from the insurer Royal London, the average length of stay in a...
The budget revealed. Today’s budget promised £2 billion in new money for social care over the next three years. Chancellor Phillip Hammond said this would help bridge the gap until the Better Care Fund kicks in. Yet, will it be enough to solve the social care crisis? It is clear from Hammond’s comments that this measure is primarily about removing pressure on the NHS. Much of this is caused by...
Years of government spending cuts are starting to threaten the human rights that underpin our way of life. Many of those rights have become so ingrained we take them for granted. Spend time with a person who needs care, however, and it may soon become clear what is at stake. Dignity. Family life. Choice. Independence. Restricting NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding for home-care is threatening these basic rights. Some...