What have people told us about Continuing Healthcare?

Continuing Healthcare should provide those eligible with NHS-funded support outside hospital. But how easy is it to get? And how could it be simpler?

Continuing Healthcare (CHC) provides NHS-funded support outside hospital for people with high care needs primarily related to their health.

The principle behind CHC is that those who require more care support because of their health needs should be able to get that care on the same terms as NHS care. It should be free at the point of access and shouldn’t be means-tested.

Yet while the idea behind CHC sounds simple, it can be anything but.

The Nuffield Trust’s new report on Continuing Healthcare shines a light on the postcode lottery, “opaque” rules, and “financial cliff-edges” people face when accessing funding for vital care. What we’ve heard from people who’ve spoken to us also highlights these and other issues.

In Healthwatch England’s article, they examine what people have shared about their experiences of accessing or trying to access CHC, and recommend changes based on their stories.