What is NHS continuing care?
Continuing care is care which is arranged and funded by the NHS
for people outside of hospital who have ongoing healthcare needs.
You can receive continuing healthcare in any setting, including
your own home or a care home. It is free, unlike help from social
services for which a contribution may be asked for depending on
circumstances.
In your own home, this means that the NHS will pay for
healthcare (for example, services from a community nurse or
specialist therapist) and personal care (for example, help with
bathing, dressing and laundry). In a care home, the NHS also pays
for your care home fees, including board and accommodation.
Who is eligible for NHS continuing healthcare?
Anyone assessed as having a certain level of care needs may
receive NHS continuing healthcare. It is not dependent on a
particular disease, diagnosis or condition, nor on who provides the
care or where that care is provided. If eligible, your care will be
funded by the NHS. This is subject to review, and should your care
needs change the funding arrangements may also change.
The assessment looks at all your care needs and relates them to
four factors:
- nature – this is how your
particular needs affect you, including the type of help you
need
- complexity – this is about how
your health needs affect each other and the level of skill required
to manage them
- intensity – this is the extent and
severity of your needs and the support needed to meet them
- unpredictability – this is about how hard it
is to predict changes in your needs that might create challenges in
managing them
If you are receiving an assessment for care whilst you are in
hospital or in your own home, then your eligibility for continuing
healthcare will be considered if your needs appear to be
high.
NHS funded nursing care
This is different to continuing care. This applies if you live
in a care home and are not eligible for continuing care but you do
need nursing care. The NHS will pay for carers in your care home to
provide the help you need. The NHS pays the home direct.
More information: NHS
Continuing Care