Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the cognitive and behavioural needs of dementia sufferers are properly reflected when deciding Continuing Health Care funding.

In England, eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is not determined by age, diagnosis or condition, or financial means. It is assessed on a case-by-case basis considering the totality of an individual’s needs, including ways in which these needs interact with one another.

When an individual is identified as potentially eligible for CHC, the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS Funded Nursing Care sets out the process for determining whether they have a ‘primary health need’. This includes assessment by a multidisciplinary team using a tool that has been developed to identify an individual’s needs and aid consistent decision making. A copy of the framework is attached.