Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the levels of NHS Continuing Healthcare application success rates.

Operational delivery of National Health Service Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is the responsibility of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) with oversight from NHS England. Decisions on eligibility for CHC are taken by the relevant ICB, on a case-by-case basis based on an individual’s assessed needs. Eligibility is not determined by age, clinical condition or financial means. Eligibility can vary across ICBs due to different factors including the age profile of the local population and health need variation between geographical regions.

We have understood “applications” to mean CHC referrals. NHS England measure CHC referrals quarterly at ICB, region, and national level. Latest published CHC and NHS-funded Nursing Care (FNC) data are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/nhs-chc-fnc/

NHS England’s assurance regime promotes accurate assessment, equal access, and consistency within CHC delivery.