NHS CHC Checklist

Individuals with long-term health needs are eligible for the NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), which covers all the social care costs. 

The local NHS provides the CHC funding stream to cover the expenses of different healthcare services provided in various environments outside hospitals. 

However, not everyone who qualifies for CHC applies because some people don’t even know they are eligible. An NHS CHC checklist is a tool designed to help with this. 

Medical practitioners can use the checklist to screen individuals in various settings to see if they are suitable for a full assessment for CHC entitlement. It’s the first step to helping eligible persons access free social care.

What is NHS CHC Checklist?

What does CHC Stand for in the NHS? CHC stands for Continuing Healthcare

NHS Continuing Healthcare – a care package arranged and funded solely by the NHS for adults aged 18 or over.

The continuing healthcare checklist is the first step in determining if an individual is entitled to free care.

The NHS CHC Checklist was developed as a screening tool to help practitioners identify people who may be referred for a full assessment, This assessment is about eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

There are two potential outcomes to the checklist:

Negative: The person does not require a full assessment as they are not eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare
Positive: Requires a full assessment. It does not mean the person is eligible.

NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist

How many different care domains are on NHS CHC Checklist?… The NHS CHC Checklist covers 12 care domains 

In each 12 care domains (full list below), each area of care asks these sorts of questions of the assessor.

Continuing Healthcare Assessment initial checklist questions here are two examples:

Breathing:
C: Normal, shortness of breath, or breathlessness
D: Shortness of breath, breathlessness, or requires oxygen

Nutrition:
C: Adequate food and drink by mouth, Needs supervision or requires additional/supplementary feeding.
B: Needs feeding, or is unable to take food / PEG

Then they are asked to add a brief description of the need and source of evidence to support the chosen level.

Who is eligible for CHC?

NHS Continuing healthcare funding covers all primary health needs, regardless of the condition, financial means, or whether you are in or out of the hospital. 

Free social care is available for adults, young people and children with health requirements from an illness, accident or disability that current specialists and universal services cannot handle alone. 

A multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals has to assess you to decide if you qualify for CHC look at the continuing healthcare government checklist gov uk website.

Interesting Fact…

The NHS was founded 5th July 1948

NHS Three core principles:

•  That it meet the needs of everyone
• That it be free at the point of delivery
• That it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay

Who can request a CHC assessment?

The CHC checklist should be completed automatically in certain circumstances. 

• One is during a hospital discharge before going through the local authority funding assessment. 
• The second is if you present a significant decline in mental and physical health. 
• Thirdly, is when entering a care facility with nursing support without an NHS-Funded Nursing Care Assessment. 

You can also request an assessment at any time. A majority of trained social and healthcare professionals is qualified to fill the checklist.

What does CHC funding pay for?

Continuing healthcare funding pays for all your primary health needs according to the individual assessment. No limits exist for the funds available for care costs. Therefore, you can’t top up the provided social care.

What are the 12 care domains of continuing healthcare?

After screening using the CHC checklist, eligible cases go through the second stage, the decision support tool assessment. This step determines if an individual receives full social care through continuing healthcare funding. The decision support tool assessment evaluates candidates against 12 key care domains, and then assigns a level of need. Here is a quick highlight of the domains:

NHS CHC Checklist

Behaviour

Individuals are examined for challenging behaviour, including aggression, severe disinhibition, fluctuations in mental states and extreme frustration.

Cognition

Assessors check for cognitive impairment and classify it according to need, ranging from no need to maximum or severe.

Psychological and emotional

The domain analyses a person’s emotional and psychological requirements and if they impact overall care.

Communication

Healthcare practitioners evaluate an individual’s ability to communicate their needs adequately.

Mobility

This domain factors in various issues depending on how they manifest themselves. For example, one person might be prone to frequent falls, while another might be completely bedbound.

Nutrition

Assessors look at issues of food aspiration and risks of dehydration or malnutrition.

Continence

The domain examines an individual’s continence requirements, which can range from no need to the maximum.

Skin

The domain considers all skin-related challenges, including whether a person has open wounds or pressure sores.

Breathing

Assessors evaluate breathing-related problems, such as emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and breathing difficulties from recurrent chests infections.

Drug therapies and medication

The domain focuses on symptom control and analyses a person’s drug regimen and any arising complications.

Altered states of consciousness

Healthcare practitioners observe any conditions that affect consciousness, such as vasovagal syncope, epilepsy and ischaemic attacks (TIAs).

Other significant care needs

This domain covers a broad spectrum and identifies various requirements on a case by case basis.

The CHC checklist enables healthcare professionals to identify cases that meet the degrees of unpredictability, complexity and intensity that necessitate considerations for continuing healthcare.