Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to improve the reassessment process for people with progressive and non-improving conditions who are in receipt of NHS Continuing Care funding.

The ‘National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care’ states that individuals found eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare should have their case reviewed initially after three months, and then annually as a minimum. The diagnosis of a particular disease or condition is not in itself a determinant of eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

NHS England has recently worked closely with the Department and other key stakeholders in developing an Assurance Framework to ensure that clinical commissioning groups comply with the requirements of the National Framework.

In addition to this, the Department has supported the development of an electronic training tool for those who are involved in assessment and decision making for NHS Continuing Healthcare. The tool is available free of charge for use by all staff involved in this process.