A flurry of letters to the Guardian newspaper last month has shed new, much needed light on the opaque NHS Continuing Healthcare system.
Several correspondents shared their experiences of navigating a “complex” and “cruel” system designed to ration NHS funds, leading many to have to seek expert help as their relative’s health deteriorates.
Dr Michael Duxbury, who has tried to access the funding for his 91-year-old Mum, wrote on 29 December 2024 that NHS professionals never signpost people to it. Then, when you do find out you can apply for it, “The hoops to jump through and bureaucratic blocks are immense.”
He went on: “She has mixed dementia, is bedbound and requires 24-hour care… The chances of me being successful without legal help is minimal – and I’m a retired medical doctor! I can’t help feeling that the system is deliberately set up for people to fail, which seems particularly cruel as you are dealing with a very vulnerable and ill demographic, to say nothing of their carers.”
Dr Duxbury’s letter clearly hit a nerve with readers, as the following week, there were several more on the subject. The first, from someone who had worked in the health and social care sector for more than a decade, confirmed that “decision-making [on whether someone is eligible for the funding] is undoubtedly influenced by an overarching need to gatekeep spending”.
The writer pointed to NHS Digital statistics showing that NHS CHC eligibility numbers per population size have decreased between 2017-18 and 2023-24. This is despite the fact that more people than ever before are living with complex needs. The writer put this down not to decreasing awareness but to a drive to “protect the NHS purse”.
The writer described the “farce” of local authorities and Integrated Care Boards (local health bodies who administer the funding) spending taxpayers’ money “arguing about who should pay for someone’s care when their eligibility is disputed. These are complicated systems for families to navigate, which lead many to seek legal advice at a time when the condition of their loved ones may deteriorate further.” This has certainly been our experience here at Just Caring Legal.
Janet Maitland from East Finchley also wrote in to say that when her relative had to go into a care home, “the first request for information was not about his health but his financial position. So they learned immediately that he had savings and owned his flat. From that moment on, in every meeting about CHC funding, where I spoke for him as he does not have the capacity to do so himself, it was clear that the money was the most important thing about him. In the end, I was defeated by people determined to minimise every medical problem he has.”
Again, this is a familiar story to us here at Just Caring Legal, even though questions about finances should never precede an assessment for NHS CHC (the funding is not means-tested).
Angela Huxter from Wantage in Oxfordshire, told the paper that she had tried three times to get CHC for her husband with no success and had to find more than £7,800 every month for his care. “I understand his care home recently received CHC for two residents posthumously, which shows what a cruel system this is,” she added.
Here at Just Caring Legal, we hear stories like this on a daily basis. Have you tried to access NHS continuing Healthcare funding for a relative without success? Are you sick of wading through the red tape? Tired of banging your head against a brick wall? If so, you may need our services.
Just Caring Legal is a solicitors’ firm that has been specialising in NHS CHC funding for years. We have recovered hundreds of thousands of pounds challenging unfair decisions like those described in the Guardian.
Why not check out the Resources section of our website for more information? You can call us today on 0191 556 1078 or send us a message to arange an initial assessment of your case. Our expertise might just make the difference between securing the funding you are entitled to and having to pay thousands a month in care fees.
Posted by Rosalind Hughes, Just Caring Legal, on 04/02/2025