1. ‘I have been told that You have to be at death’s door to receive it’
I wish I had a pound for every time someone has said this to me! It is not true that you have to be but of course if you are then you are likely to qualify for fast track funding if you are not expected to live longer than 12 weeks. However, there are currently 160,000 people wo are in receipt of the funding and many people who qualify for this funding and who go on to receive it for several years.
2. ‘I have been told that there is no point in applying for this funding because the NHS in my area are so short of money that they don’t ever grant the funding to anyone’
This is total nonsense – if you qualify for NHS CHC funding then the NHS is legally obliged to provide it – free at the point of delivery in accordance with the NHS Constitution. Don’t be fobbed off.
3. ‘I have been told that there is no point even being assessed for this funding because my father will never qualify for it’
Nonsense – if you are being discharged from hospital into long term care then you are entitled to be assessed for the funding and at least the first stage of the process which is called a checklist assessment should be carried out before being discharged from hospital. You are of course entitled to request a CHC assessment even if you are transferring into long-term care from your own home.
4. ‘You have to be in a Nursing Home to qualify’
The setting of the care is irrelevant to whether or not you qualify for the funding. It is true that the likelihood of qualifying is higher if you are in a nursing home rather than a residential home or living in your own home by virtue of the fact that people in nursing care are already identified as having a higher level of need which requires the input of a nurse but it is not a bar to qualifying if you are not in a nursing home.
5. Are you still able to apply for NHS CHC Funding if you have savings and own a house?
Yes! This is one of the most commonly held mis-apprehensions about NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding. The assessment of eligibility is based on your health care needs and the care which is required to manage those needs and is nothing to do with your personal wealth or finances. A financial assessment should only be requested by the local authority once the issue of eligibility for Continuing Healthcare funding has been considered.