Social Services
(asked on 7th November 2023) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued recent guidance to local authorities on the level of social care they should provide before requesting the NHS to take responsibility for patient care.
No such recent guidance has been issued. The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care was last updated in 2022, and is available at the following link:
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must assess any adult where it appears the adult may have needs for care and support. Where an individual has healthcare needs such that it appears they may be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), the local authority must refer the individual to the National Health Service, who may assess them. Where an individual has been assessed as having a ‘primary health need’ following a CHC assessment the NHS funds their healthcare and associated social care needs in any non-acute setting. If a person is not eligible for CHC, they may potentially receive NHS-funded Nursing Care or a joint package of health and social care which is funded by both the NHS and the local authority.