NHS Continuing Healthcare: What families need to know in 2026
NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is still one of the most misunderstood areas of health and social care, with many families only hearing about it when a relative is being discharged from hospital, moving into a care home or when the care home fees start to feel unmanageable.
The confusion typically comes from the overlap between primary health needs (which are the NHS’s responsibility) and social care needs (which are usually means-tested and can involve the local authority).
What is NHS continuing healthcare?
NHS Continuing Healthcare is a complete package of care arranged and funded by the NHS for adults (18+) who are assessed as having a primary health need and is not means-tested. It can be provided in many settings, including at home, in a residential home or in a nursing home (including homes registered to provide nursing care).
Explore NHS Continuing Healthcare in more detail.
Is Continuing Healthcare still available?
NHS Continuing Healthcare is still available in 2026.
Families sometimes hear that CHC is being “phased out” or that it is no longer realistic to pursue, when in reality, CHC remains a legal entitlement set out in the National Health Service Act and the Care Act. What has changed for many people is the experience in accessing funding due to increased demand, tighter capacity and more pressure on local systems.
If you are worried that reforms to the NHS might affect CHC, it’s sensible to seek clear, current advice. Find out more about whether the abolishment of NHS England affects Continuing Healthcare.
What does Continuing Healthcare funding cover?
NHS Continuing Healthcare funding should be sufficient to meet all assessed care needs. Depending on the setting and the person’s needs, this can include:
- Care home fees, including accommodation costs where the placement is part of the assessed package
- Nursing care
- Personal care, such as washing, dressing, eating, continence support, mobility and safety
- Equipment, therapies and specialist input required to manage needs safely
- A personal health budget, where appropriate, to support more flexible care arrangements at home
It’s important to note that this is different from local authority support, which is usually means-tested. It is also different from NHS Funded Nursing Care (FNC). Some people in nursing homes who are not eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare may still qualify for NHS FNC, which is a contribution towards nursing costs, rather than full funding.
How Do You Qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare?
Eligibility is decided using the primary health need approach, i.e. are the person’s needs primarily health needs, rather than needs that could be met within local authority social care responsibilities.
The assessment looks at the nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability of needs – eligibility is not based on diagnosis or age. A diagnosis can explain why someone needs care, but CHC depends on what the care involves day-to-day and what level of risk and clinical oversight is involved. For example, this is why some people with dementia may be eligible, while others are not. The same is true for someone living with a disability following an accident or illness.
In short, eligibility depends on the whole picture, including how needs interact, how often skilled interventions are required, and what could happen if care is not delivered consistently and safely.
Learn more about primary health needs and how you could qualify.
If you believe someone may be eligible for NHS continuing, the most important early actions are to ask for screening to begin (usually via the NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist), and then to start gathering evidence that shows the reality of day-to-day needs, risks and supervision requirements.
How to Apply for NHS Continuing Healthcare
You can apply for NHS Continuing Healthcare whenever care needs suggest a primary health need, as the subject is often raised during hospital discharge planning, when care needs have escalated, when a person is moving into a care home, or when the family is already paying privately for care and wants the NHS to arrange a full assessment of eligibility.
Who can apply?
A request can be made by the individual, a family member or professionals involved in care, including nurses, GPs, discharge teams, and social care professionals.
When should you apply?
The earlier, the better. Families often assume the system will trigger assessment automatically, when it’s more common for people to enter care arrangements without anyone clearly explaining CHC, or without a checklist being completed at the right time.
Why early advice helps
Early advice means you can be better prepared before starting the process and can help prevent unnecessary care home fees, reduce stress during time-pressured decisions and help you gather and present evidence correctly from the start. A supportive first step is Farley Dwek’s CHC Initial Assessment service, which can help you understand prospects and next actions.
CHC funding process
The CHC funding process is very rarely a single event with a straightforward outcome, and it’s common to move through several stages before a final decision is made.
In most cases, the process starts with the NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist. If this indicates a full assessment is needed, the next stage usually involves an MDT meeting and completion of the Decision Support Tool (DST), after which a formal eligibility decision is made by your Integrated Care Board (ICB).
Even when funding is awarded, the process doesn’t necessarily end there. CHC funding is reviewed periodically, which is why it’s important to keep clear records and make sure day-to-day needs and risks are accurately reflected in care notes and assessments.
Refusals are also common, but if you disagree with the decision, you do have the right to challenge it through the recognised appeals process. This normally begins with local resolution, but if the matter cannot be resolved locally, it can progress to an Independent Review Panel convened by NHS England. This appeals process is a recognised part of the NHS Continuing Healthcare framework, particularly where key evidence has been missed, or the decision does not reflect the reality of needs.
In some situations, it might also be possible to request a retrospective review for a previously unassessed period of care, where CHC was not considered at the time, or where errors or missing evidence affected the decision-making process.
What to do next
If you think NHS Continuing Healthcare may apply, these first steps are practical and often make the process feel less overwhelming:
- Talk with family and agree who will manage communication
- Start gathering records straight away – care plans, risk assessments, incident logs, medication charts, GP records and discharge notes often provide stronger evidence than a short summary.
- Ask the right questions – i.e has the NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist been done? If not, why not? If it was negative, does that reflect the real needs?
- Get advice early if you are unsure
If you would like to discuss initial advice and eligibility with Farley Dwek, we can help you understand your options and next steps. Read our CHC free guide as a helpful starting point, contact us online or call us on 0161 272 5222 to speak to one of our friendly and experienced team.