Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments for those people in residential or nursing homes are only carried out by staff who have been briefed on the National Framework.

In England, the Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for National Health Service continuing healthcare (CHC) policy and legislation which includes the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care. In Northern Ireland, CHC is the responsibility of Department of Health Northern Ireland. More information on the National Framework is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-framework-for-nhs-continuing-healthcare-and-nhs-funded-nursing-care

In England, paragraph 122 of the National Framework sets out clearly that the Checklist can be completed by staff who have been trained in its use. Once an individual has been referred for a full assessment of eligibility for CHC, a multidisciplinary team must assess whether the individual has a primary health need using the Decision Support Tool.