The majority of the general population have never heard of NHS-funded Continuing Health Care (CHC).
Why would they? The NHS doesn’t take out billboard adverts to promote CHC or leave helpful leaflets on the subject in GP waiting rooms. Strange isn’t it? It’s almost as though they would prefer us to not know about it!
Most people only become aware of CHC when their loved one needs care. And it’s at this point that, sadly, they are in for a nasty surprise. Why? Because successfully applying for CHC is anything but easy.
“My father has paid taxes all his life but now he is elderly and needs help the state won’t support him – it’s so unfair!”
Sadly, we hear this so many times from people who call us. And we totally agree – the postcode lottery that exists for providing social care in this country IS completely unfair.
When a loved one – be it a spouse or parent – becomes ill or frail and we find that they need care, it comes as an utter shock that, after a lifetime of paying taxes, social care is means tested.
We have written a great deal about means testing but, in a nutshell, anyone who has more than £23,250 in savings is classed as a self-funder. And if they need to go into residential care, the value of their home is also included in this calculation.
Even if your loved one is so frail that they require four visits a day from two carers, this is still considered social care and has to be paid for out of hard earned savings or precious pension income.
In order to get all their care – both medical and social – paid for by the NHS, your loved one will need to qualify for CHC.
Recently, the team at Steene Law have seen an increase in the number of people who have found that their relatives have gone into care and have been told that they are going to be assessed using the NHS’s CHC Decision Support Tool.
This document is used to “screen” people for free CHC and it is our experience that the tool is being used to reduce the number of people who are eligible.
Recent data suggests that a significant number of people who are in residential care and who are self-funders could, if the rules were properly applied, qualify for CHC.
We are seeing shocking cases where people are not even getting a clear explanation as to why they are being denied CHC.
We would strongly advise anyone who is considering applying for CHC to seek expert advice before applying.
Why? Because obtaining a fair CHC decision in the first place is a lot less hassle than having to appeal it. And while you are going through the lengthy appeal process, your loved one will still have to fund their care fees, be it from the sale of their home or out of their savings.
If being denied something after you have paid a lifetime of taxes is not bad enough, we are also seeing the Financial Assessment Departments of Local Authorities making allegations of deliberate asset or income deprivation.
We recently dealt with a case where a perfectly legitimate transaction led to a grandfather being accused of deliberate deprivation of assets.
The elderly gentleman decided to help his grandson by paying for his university fees. At the time, the gentleman was perfectly fit and well. Many years later, he suffered a stroke which meant he needed care.
His local authority carried out a financial assessment, more commonly referred to as a means test. Whilst trawling through his bank records, they discovered the lump sum paid to his grandson and alleged that he made the payment in order to avoid care fees!
The team at Steene Law got involved and we were able to satisfy the Local Authority that the tests for deliberate deprivation of assets had not been met. As a result, the Local Authority picked up the cost of care for the elderly gentleman.
The moral of this story? If you have a relative who has both health and social care needs, call us.
We offer a free fact-finding telephone conversation, where you can describe your loved one’s precise circumstances and we can advise whether, in our experience, the eligibility criteria for CHC is likely to be achieved.
We also provide advice and support with drafting CHC applications, appealing unfair CHC decisions and defending claims of deliberate deprivation of assets.
Call us on 0203 653 0623 for a free conversation. We are available from 8am to 7pm, Monday to Friday.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.