If you have ongoing care needs due to a health condition or disability, you may be eligible for healthcare funding to help cover some or all of the costs of your care.
NHS Continuing Healthcare is a form of funding available to adults over the age of 18 that is arranged and funded solely by the NHS. But accessing this funding is a lengthy and sometimes complicated process that requires several assessment stages.
To help you make sense of your options, we have created this guide to the first step of the assessment process, the NHS Continuing Care Checklist (CHC Checklist). Here is everything you need to know about the CHC Checklist so that you know what to expect from this initial stage of the process.
What Is The CHC Checklist?
The CHC Checklist is a screening tool used to determine eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare. It helps health practitioners determine who should be sent for a full assessment to see if they qualify for support for healthcare funding.
The threshold criteria for passing the checklist have been intentionally set low. This is to ensure that all those who require a full assessment for eligibility will qualify.
There are two potential outcomes:
- A negative checklist, meaning the individual does not require a full assessment and is therefore ineligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare or,
- A positive checklist, meaning the individual now requires a full assessment. However, this does not necessarily mean that the individual will qualify for funding
What to Expect During the NHS Screening Process
The CHC Checklist is completed by a qualified health or social care practitioner such as a doctor, nurse or social worker. It includes a detailed questionnaire about your overall health and care needs.
The CHC Checklist covers 11 core elements of care including,
- Breathing
- Nutrition
- Continence
- Skin integrity
- Mobility
- Communication
- Psychological/Emotional needs
- Cognition
- Behaviour
- Medication and drug therapies
- Altered state of consciousness
For each element, the healthcare practitioner will allocate a level of need. These ratings range from ‘No Needs’ to ‘High’ or ‘Severe’.
If you would like to see the full criteria, you can download a blank copy of the CHC Checklist.
After the initial checklist, an experienced team of health and social care professionals will examine the information provided and determine your eligibility for a full assessment. You can expect to hear back about their findings within 28 days.
For those in need of immediate or emergency care, a quicker fast track assessment can be completed instead.
How to Challenge a Checklist Assessment
If for any reason you disagree with the decision or feel that the checklist was carried out incorrectly, you can ask that the Clinical Commission Group reconsider. You must provide grounds for disputing the results.
If you feel that certain evidence was ignored or overlooked, include that in your report. Be sure to add any relevant medical records or notes that you feel substantiate the points you make.
If the decision remains unchanged and you would like to challenge it further, you can initiate a written NHS complaint procedure to the CCG-compliant manager.
Arranging for Care
At Prestige Nursing & Care we have helped thousands of families across the UK understand how they can finance care, whether through funding available to them or financing initiatives that can contribute to the costs of their care.
We have developed strong relationships with many CCGs and healthcare practitioners that are based on the shared goal of securing the right funded care package for our clients. We work in collaboration with these groups and individuals to ensure that our clients receive the quality care they need to live a meaningful and independent life at home.
Once your NHS funding is in place, we can work with you to create a bespoke care package that focuses on not just your care needs but your wishes and preferences as well. If you are self-funding your own care, we can help you explore the options available to you to help finance the care and support you need now and in the future.
