Too important not to post independently of the main CHC thread.
( https://www.carersuk.org/forum/support-and-advice/all-about-caring/chc-coughlan-grogan-judgements-nhs-contuing-healthcare-nhs-fnc-hospital-discharges-all-under-this-one-thread-35998 )
__
Many families are wrongly told that NHS Continuing Healthcare funding is only available for people who are at the end of their life.
Not only is this incorrect, it often means that elderly people with significant health needs are wrongly denied the free NHS care they are entitled to in law.
https://www.continuing-healthcare.co.uk/continuing-healthcare-guidance/what-is-a-fast-track-assessment
Thanks for posting Chris. My Dad is NOT terminally ill as such, but has a progressive neurological illness. He qualifies for CHC, although we REALLY had to fight for it. If you are initially refused DO NOT take “no” for an answer. Appeal. We have appealed twice now and both times been granted CHC on appeal. Also not uncommon for people to be granted CHC and then have it taken away on review (Also happened to my Dad). Again APPEAL. My feeling is that unless you are expected to die swiftly the answer is always “no” in the hope people will roll over and forget about it. But maybe I am being cynical??
Your welcome , Sally.
Your experience mirror images many more across the UK.
" How to appeal " … included in the main thread.
Rationing by design ?
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/support-and-advice/all-about-caring/chc-rationed-high-time-to-ask-some-obvious-questions-33311?hilit=chc%20rationing
One reason why I nominated Professor Luke Clements to be the first " Guest " to do a question and answer session on this forum :
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/news-and-campaigns/campaigns-petitions/guest-visitors-q-a-session-cuk-deliberating-since-6-july-2018-32505?hilit=luke%20clements
Despite the obvious benefit to forum users , still with CUK since … 6 July 2018 !!!
Cynical ?
Perhaps reading too many of my postings ???
Tends to be catching ???
What we all are " Told " by all and sundry out there … CUK / Carers Trust included … and what we ALL experience for ourselves in CarerLand.
Selling mutton dressed as lamb ???
Care Act , 2014 and Carers Assessments … two that immediately spring to mind.
In CarerLand , too many of us know only too well what mutton tastes like ???
Two different worlds ?
Is that being " Cynical ? "
Or being realistic ?
Thanks also Chris, Mum got her outcome today, a big NO to Mum for CHC.
After reading through the 50-60 page assessment I found some startling announcements, Mum has been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia by the care homes GP (Thanks for telling me care home). Apparently I was unavailable for the assessment despite visiting every other day, maybe if you asked me to attend I’d be available!!!
I’ve brought the letter home with the intention of binning it, I said to Mum, whats the point of appealing, they just want you to use up your money first. Maybe now I’ll reconsider.
NEVER, NEVER bin paperwork. Throw it in a corner until you feel able to go through it again. Ideally put it in mum’s dedicated lever arch file,but NOT THE BIN.
Go through it calmly with a highlighter pen and Mark everything that is inaccurate . Keep a piece of paper next to you and write down what is MISSING because what isn’t there is often the most important of all!
I’ve brought the letter home with the intention of binning it, I said to Mum, > whats the point of appealing> , they just want you to use up your money first. Maybe now I’ll reconsider.
CHC main thread :
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/support-and-advice/all-about-caring/chc-coughlan-grogan-judgements-pointon-ruling-nhs-contuing-healthcare-nhs-fnc-hospital-discharges-all-here-35998
Section :
CHC: APPLIED FOR BUT REFUSED ?
I had this with my father, also suffering from vascular dementia.
He was clearly entitled to CHC but of course they did everything they possibly could to deny it. It was granted on an emergency basis on discharge from a hospital to a ‘hospice’, on the understanding he wouldn’t live more than 2 months, but unfortunately (!) he didn’t die quickly enough and so over the next two years there were further assessments.
You have to sit with them when they go in to do the assessment. Go through the paperwork in advance and decide what you believe the ‘score’ for each heading should be. Be prepared to argue and argue and argue. My father was lying in a bed staring at the ceiling and unable to speak/interact with anybody, but they still wanted to give him some sort of mid-way mark for ability to interact. It was really insane. My sister and I used to go to the appointments together, and the stress it caused us was absolutely indescribable. Of course we were marked down as trouble makers because we insisted on being involved (we had POA for health and welfare).
We did manage to retain the funding until his death, but we didn’t ever feel secure that it might not be taken away at a moment’s notice. We were probably also entitled to make a significant back claim, but TBH I just didn’t have the mental resources to do it and so we let that go, probably losing up to tens of thousands of pounds.
The message is they’ll try to say no even though the entitlement is clear. If you can’t bring yourself to fight then it will be taken away. I’m so glad that battle is over for us.