BackThe Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman published an insight report on complaints it has received about NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC) on Wednesday 4 November. The objective of this report is to support those on the frontline of NHS CHC to learn from mistakes, improve quality, and consistently apply national guidance to deliver care packages that meet people’s needs.
Care and support planning
We found that failings in care and support planning result in people and their families being forced to fund care, on top of that funded by NHS CHC. We also found that poor communication around care plans and packages can have similar outcomes, with people being unaware of their entitlements and the processes to challenge decisions where they believe shortfalls are occurring.
Reviews of previously unassessed periods of care
We found that failings by CCGs when reviewing previously unassessed periods of care resulted in people waiting considerable periods for certainty about finances. We also found there was no detailed guidance to support CCGs in reviewing previously unassessed periods of care after 2012.
PHSO has made six recommendations to address these findings and help inform the continual improvement of NHS CHC:
1. Support the skills and experience of NHS CHC practitioners locally: CCGs should make sure their NHS CHC teams receive regular training to equip them with the appropriate skills and knowledge for their roles.
2. Share learning nationally: NHS England and NHS Improvement should review the NHS CHC e-learning tool and other learning opportunities to make sure they are updated with the learning outlined in this report.
3. Put learning into practice: NHS England and NHS Improvement should consider what additional support it can provide to care systems, CCGs and NHS CHC frontline staff.
4. Support people and providers through the NHS process: CCGs should make sure all parties to a CHC-funded care package understand the principles of NHS CHC funding. They should clearly explain to people receiving care and their families, what is included in the care package and how they go about arranging additional services where necessary.
5. Clarify national guidance: The Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England and NHS Improvement should clarify guidance for CCGs setting out how they should respond to requests to retrospectively assess people’s eligibility for NHS CHC funding.
6. Deliver capability in the NHS CHC system: With support from NHS England and NHS Improvement, CCGs should ensure they have sufficient capability to meet the obligations set out in this guidance.
Source: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
