Flaws with CHC payments are indicative of a care system that is failing families
The trauma being inflicted upon families as a result of flaws in the NHS’s Continuing Healthcare (CHC) scheme is reflective of a care system that is failing to deliver for patients and their families.
Carers of vulnerable people are the best of us and the last thing they should have to face is a catastrophic financial cost.
CHC is NHS-funded care for adults whose needs are primarily health-related. If found eligible, the NHS funds all assessed care costs. If not, individuals may face substantial means-tested social care charges.
As the experience of several people who have been denied CHC funding shows, the current system is failing patients and their families. It undermines the NHS’s central premise, which is universal care for all. No family should be left facing financial hardship because they cannot access funding for the care their loved one is entitled to.
There is clearly too much variance and eligibility criteria needs to be simplified. However this must not descend into an unempathetic tick box exercise. That would only lead to further distress for vulnerable patients and their families.
It isn’t as simple as looking at what savings and assets a person has next to their name, as the story of Karen Hargrave’s husband James shows. The couple owned a flat that they couldn’t live in anymore after James started suffering from Long Covid.
Integrated care boards may say that they are working to streamline administrative processes and find efficiencies so that more people can access the care they need sooner. But the Government needs to ensure that the CHC system ensures vulnerable people don’t face unnecessary anxiety and delays.
Britain cannot afford to shy away from tough conservations around social care and it is paramount that compassion is at the heart of the care system.