NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding Lawyers

Winston Solicitors offers expert legal support in relation to eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding.

Our NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding claims department will be led by a national expert joining on 6th January 2025. They are a recognised expert in the field of NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding, well known for their passion to make a difference for elderly and vulnerable people, their knowledge and expertise, and their straight-forward legal advice.

We provide a range of professional services to assist you at all stages of your NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment or appeal.

NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding is the name given to a package of care which is fully funded by your local NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) and should be made available to anyone who is assessed as having a “Primary Health Need.”

Whether or not you have a “Primary Health Need” and are eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding is determined following a multi-disciplinary assessment of your needs. The multi-disciplinary team (MDT) will usually comprise a Registered Nurse and Social Worker.

By law, the MDT must consider whether your nursing needs:

• Are not just a minor part of the care provided alongside accommodation by social services, and
• Go beyond the level of care that social services would typically be expected to provide.

The MDT should follow the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding when completing their assessment. This sets out best practice guidance for eligibility assessments, and states that an individual is likely to meet the above criteria if their care needs are

• Intense,
• Complex, and/or
• Unpredictable

Diagnosis of a medical condition or residence in a nursing home do not automatically indicate eligibility. Instead, consideration should be given to the level of skill needed to meet the individual’s needs. 

Needs that are well-managed are still needs and should not be marginalised.

The MDT should complete the Decision Support Tool (DST) and consider the individual’s needs in detail across 12 care domains, before making a recommendation on eligibility to the ICB. The ICB should accept unless there are exceptional circumstances for it not to do so.

Every case is unique, so we take the time to understand your situation fully and develop a tailored strategy to meet your specific needs.

As your dedicated professional legal advisors, we will always advise you based on what we consider to be in your best interests, tailoring our approach as necessary. Visit the pages listed below to find out more.

Both firms of solicitors and unregulated, non-legal organisations offer help to individuals with NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding.

In our experience, the benefits of choosing to use a solicitor’s firm over other types of organisation are that:

• Solicitors firms are independent.
• As a law firm, we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and we are bound by a Code of Conduct.
• We are required to have professional indemnity insurance that protects you in the unlikely event of any issues arising.
• Our training and experience make us skilled advocates, which gives us a sound knowledge of your legal rights. This includes practical legal skills, such as drafting arguments and considering evidence.
• If legal action is needed, we may be able to assist. If we are unable to help, we can guide you to the right type of lawyer or firm, ensuring you don't miss any opportunities and can make informed decisions.
• Our fees are very competitive, and the quality of service you receive is second to none.

At every stage of your case, we are committed to providing clear, honest, and client-focused support. 

This means that we will always:

• Act in your best interests
• Tell you whether we consider your case has a reasonable prospect of success
• Give you advice about the cost vs benefit of proceeding with your case
• Be open and transparent about our professional fees
• Do out utmost to secure the best possible outcome for you

You don’t have to just take our word for it. Here are some case studies that highlight how we've helped clients navigate their NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding Services legal challenges and achieve positive outcomes.

I am so pleased I came across my care funding expert online. My mum has severe dementia, along with a whole host of other issues, including breathing and swallowing problems. She’d been seen by a nurse from the ICB every year for 15 years and each time the nurse decided my mum didn’t need to be assessed.

I instructed them to advise me, and they made representations to the ICB on my behalf. In no time, they were representing me at the full eligibility assessment the ICB had agreed to undertake – the first my mum has ever had – and the ICB awarded my mum Continuing Healthcare Funding.

They are true experts in the field of NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding and really knows their stuff. I couldn’t have done it without them. Their passion and knowledge were obvious from our first interaction, and I felt at ease knowing that they were on our side fighting mum’s case.

My mum passed away in 2023 and I am the executor of my mum’s estate. My brother and I were concerned to receive a very large care bill from the council, and wondered whether she should have received free funding because of her needs. I really appreciated Winston Solicitors’ initial appraisal of my case which was prompt, thorough and simple to understand. I now know exactly where my mum’s estate stands on making a claim, and I can share the advice with my brothers who, along with me, are the beneficiaries of mum’s estate. The independent advice is greatly appreciated.