Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will instruct NHS England to ensure that Continuing Healthcare assessments for spinal cord injured individuals are transferable between Clinical Commissioning Groups when a patient moves to a different area.

Existing legislation already sets out the responsibilities of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in relation to arranging NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) services for an individual. This includes which CCG is responsible for a patient and ensuring appropriate care arrangements are considered for those who may have moved to a different area. The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care sets out that where an individual has been found eligible for CHC, regular reviews should be undertaken to ensure the care plan or arrangements remain appropriate to meet the individual’s needs. Eligibility for CHC is not determined by clinical condition, but rather whether an individual has been assessed as having a ‘primary health need’.