Guidance and sources

Everything on this site comes from the sources below. Each link goes to the publisher's own page.

Official guidance

• National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing CareDHSC, July 2022, revised July 2023The national rules that every ICB must follow, from the checklist to reviews and complaints.
• Decision Support Tool (DST) and its guidanceDHSC, October 2026The form the assessment team uses to record needs in 12 areas. Updated by the Department of Health and Social Care in October 2026.
• NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist and its guidanceDHSC, October 2026The short screening tool that decides whether someone needs a full assessment. Updated in October 2026.
• Fast Track Pathway Tool and its guidanceDHSC, October 2026The quicker route for someone whose health is getting worse quickly and who may be near the end of life. Updated in October 2026.
• NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded nursing care: public information leafletDHSC, 26 August 2022The government's plain English guide for families, also in other languages.
• National Framework: easy read versionDHSC, 16 May 2023The main points of the National Framework in easy read.
• NHS England: NHS Continuing HealthcareNHS England, page checked 27 October 2026NHS England's overview, including the free advice service it funds through Beacon.

NHS statistics

NHS England plans to stop this data collection after the 2026 to 27 financial year, and move to a new data set.

• NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care statisticsNHS England, page checked 27 October 2026NHS England's quarterly figures for every area of England.
• CHC and FNC quarterly data, April to June 2026NHS England, 13 August 2026The figures behind "about 4 in 5" and "about 1 in 7" on our home page: 2,295 of 13,001 people assessed were found eligible, and 92 of 666 local resolution requests ended with the person found eligible.

Reports and reviews

• Investigation into NHS continuing healthcare fundingNational Audit Office, 5 July 2017Found large differences between areas in who gets CHC, and that many assessments took longer than 28 days.
• Treasury Minutes, March 2018: the government's response to the Public Accounts CommitteeHM Treasury, 26 March 2018Sets out the Committee's 2018 findings on CHC, including long waits and decisions that vary from place to place, and the government's reply.
• Continuing Healthcare: getting it right first timeParliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, 3 November 2020The Ombudsman's review of CHC complaints, with repeated problems that left some families paying for care the NHS should have funded.
• Ombudsman investigation into Hounslow CCGParliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, 25 October 2022One family's case, where care was not funded properly and the Ombudsman told the NHS to put it right.
• All or nothing? Access and variation in NHS continuing health careNuffield Trust, September 2025Independent research showing that fewer people are found eligible than before, with wide differences across England.

Research

There is very little peer-reviewed research on NHS Continuing Healthcare. These are small studies.

• Assessment and provision of continuing healthcare: a literature reviewRCN Publishing, 27 September 2019Found few studies on CHC and called for more research.
• A survey of nurses who assess eligibility for continuing healthcareRCN Publishing, 24 November 2020Nurses felt least sure about judging a primary health need.
• Survival after referral for fast track end-of-life fundingBMJ, June 2023A study in one hospital on how long people lived after a Fast Track referral, and the effect of delays.
• Care gaps and inequalities in continuing healthcare in rural areasSAGE, 2024Case studies from one rural GP practice.

In the news

• NHS care funding causes 'unnecessary suffering' for patients, charities tell CooperThe Telegraph (syndicated on Yahoo News), 20 October 2026Fourteen charities asked the Health Secretary for an independent review of CHC.
• 14 charities call for urgent action to fix NHS Continuing Healthcare fundingThe Carer, 21 October 2026Names the charities and the petition they handed in.
• Which? reveals huge NHS care home funding variations across EnglandWhich?, 4 February 2020Found big differences between areas in 2020. The figures are now out of date.

Free help

These are the free services and the one firm's fees mentioned on this site.

• Beacon: free information and advice on NHS Continuing HealthcareBeacon CHC, page checked 27 October 2026Up to 90 minutes of free, independent advice, funded by NHS England. Phone 0345 548 0300.
• nhs.uk: NHS continuing healthcareNHS, page checked 27 October 2026The NHS website's guide, with Beacon's helpline number.
• Age UK Advice LineAge UK, page checked 27 October 2026Free advice line, 0800 678 1602, open every day.
• Hugh James: nursing care fee recoveryHugh James, page checked 27 October 2026One national law firm's published fees for CHC cases, checked on 27 October 2026.

Getting records

The sources behind our guide to getting the records.

• ICO: responding to a request for a copy of someone's informationInformation Commissioner's Office, 8 December 2025How long organisations have to reply, and when they can charge.
• ICO: how to recognise a requestInformation Commissioner's Office, 7 April 2026Requests can be spoken or written, and can be made for someone else with their authority.
• ICO: health informationInformation Commissioner's Office, 8 December 2025When some health information can be held back.
• ICO: time limits for respondingInformation Commissioner's Office, page checked 27 October 2026When the one-month time limit starts, and the longest it can take.
• NHS England: how do I get a copy of my health records?NHS England, page checked 27 October 2026Who to ask for GP and hospital records.
• nhs.uk: family and carer access to GP servicesNHS, 2 July 2026How a relative can be given access to someone's GP record online.
• CQC: Regulation 17, good governanceCare Quality Commission, 16 May 2025Care homes must keep a full and up-to-date record of each person's care.
• Access to Health Records Act 1990, section 3legislation.gov.uk, page checked 27 October 2026How to get the records of someone who has died, and how long it should take.
• NHS England Digital: records of people who have diedNHS England Digital, 7 May 2026Who can ask for the records of someone who has died.

The law behind our terms and privacy notice

• Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 29legislation.gov.uk, page checked 27 October 2026The right to cancel within 14 days.
• Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30legislation.gov.uk, page checked 27 October 2026When the cancellation period ends.
• Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 34legislation.gov.uk, page checked 27 October 2026How quickly a refund must be paid.
• Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36legislation.gov.uk, page checked 27 October 2026When the right to cancel a service ends.
• Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, regulation 22legislation.gov.uk, page checked 27 October 2026When marketing emails need your consent.
• UK GDPR, Article 13legislation.gov.uk, page checked 27 October 2026What a privacy notice must tell you.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Links to other sites are given so you can read the original. We don't control those sites.