All Age Continuing Care | Central East ICB

Our All Age Continuing Care Team

The All Age Continuing Care Team at Central East Integrated Care Board brings together a diverse range of professionals, including registered nurses from across the adult, mental health, learning disability, and children and young people’s nursing fields, alongside social workers, commissioning officers, and experienced administrative staff.

With many years of experience in assessing eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare and supporting individuals with long-term conditions, the team is committed to guiding and supporting you throughout the process.

The Team’s primary role is to ensure that assessments for NHS Continuing Healthcare are carried out fairly, consistently, and in accordance with the National Framework.

Our team possesses extensive knowledge, expertise, and experience across a wide range of health conditions, gained through working in diverse health and care settings, including primary care, community services, hospitals, and secondary care environments.

Contact our All Age Continuing Care Team at Central East ICB

Contact details for each team can be found below:

Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Team
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Team
Hertfordshire Team
Children and Young People’s Team
Personal Health Budget Team
Appeals and Retrospective Team

Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Team

If you are registered with a GP in Bedfordshire, Luton or Milton Keynes, please contact us via the below details:

Telephone:: 01525 624300
Email:: [email protected]
Address:: All Age Continuing Care Team, Central East ICB,
Priory House (Ground West), Monks Walk
Chicksands, Shefford
Bedfordshire
SG17 5TQ

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Team

If you are registered with a GP in Cambridgeshire or Peterborough, please contact us via the below details:

Telephone:: 03300 571 022
Email:: [email protected]
Address:: All Age Continuing Care Team, Central East ICB
Gemini House, Bartholomew’s Walk,
Cambridgeshire Business Park, Angel Drove
Ely, Cambridgeshire
CB7 4EA

Hertfordshire Team

If you are registered with a GP in Hertfordshire, please contact us via the below details:

Telephone:: 01442 284130
Email:: [email protected]
Address:: All Age Continuing Care Team, Central East ICB
The Forum (First Floor), Marlowes
Hemel Hempstead
Hertfordshire
HP1 1DN

Children and Young People’s Continuing Care Team

You can contact the Children’s Continuing Care Team by:

Telephone:: 01442 284105
Email:: [email protected]
Address:: All Age Continuing Care Team, Central East ICB,
Gemini House, Bartholomew’s Walk
Cambridge Business Park, Angel Drove
Ely, Cambridgeshire
CB7 4EA

Personal Health Budget Team

You can contact the Personal Health Budget Team by:

Telephone:: 01525 624402
Email:: [email protected]
Address:: All Age Continuing Care Team, Central East ICB,
Gemini House, Bartholomew’s Walk
Cambridge Business Park, Angel Drove
Ely, Cambridgeshire
CB7 4EA

Appeals and Retrospective Team

You can contact the Appeals and Retrospective Team by:

Telephone:: 01525 472240
Email:: [email protected]
Address:: All Age Continuing Care Team, Central East ICB,
Gemini House, Bartholomew’s Walk
Cambridge Business Park, Angel Drove
Ely, Cambridgeshire
CB7 4EA

Learn more about NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)

NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) means a package of ongoing care that is arranged and funded solely by the NHS. It is for a relatively small number of people who have been assessed as having what is called a primary health need.

Such care is provided to meet health and associated social care needs which have arisen as a result of disability, accident or illness. NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is based on a person’s care needs and not on a particular health diagnosis, disease or condition.

NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) can be provided in a variety of settings outside of hospital, such as your own home or in a care home. NHS Continuing Healthcare is free, unlike support provided by local authorities, which may involve the individual making a financial contribution depending on income and savings. It is the responsibility of the NHS Central East Integrated Care Board to decide the appropriate package of support for someone who is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

The ICB will provide your Continuing Healthcare assessment. We will fairly consider all applications and guide you through the process as needed. Assessments are free.

If you have a social worker, or other NHS health professional working with you, they can complete the Checklist and submit it to the ICB on your behalf.

There are different services for children and young people (up to their eighteenth birthday) and adults.

The principles and processes of NHS Continuing Healthcare are set out in a national framework which can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Visit the Gov.uk website to learn more about

NHS Continuing Healthcare Explainer Video

Assessments for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)

What is NHS Continuing Healthcare?

NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is a package of ongoing care that is arranged and funded solely by the NHS. It is designed to support individuals aged 18 or over who are found to have a primary health need which have arisen as a result of disability, accident or illness.

The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care – July 2022 (revised) sets out how NHS Continuing Healthcare operates and how eligibility is determined. It provides a consistent approach to ensure that all professionals involved in assessing and delivering NHS Continuing Healthcare follow the same processes and standards.

How eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare is assessed:

The assessment process for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is person-centred; this means you, your views about your needs and the care and support you require are at the centre of the process.

For most individuals, step one is a screening tool called an NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist. This is the screening tool used by health and social care staff to identify those people who may be eligible to undertake a full assessment for NHS Continuing Healthcare. The Checklist does not indicate whether the individual is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, only whether they require full assessment of eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

The Checklist is a national tool and the threshold at this stage of the process has intentionally been set low, in order to ensure that all those who require a full assessment of eligibility have this opportunity. If your checklist indicates further assessment is required, this does not mean that you will be eligible to receive NHS Continuing Healthcare.

If the Checklist has been completed and indicates that there is a need to carry out a full assessment of eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare, the NHS Central East Integrated Care Board’s All Age Continuing Care Team will arrange for a multidisciplinary team to carry out an assessment of your needs. This is made up of two or more health or social care professionals who may already be involved in your care.

The second step is a full assessment of eligibility. A multidisciplinary team will complete a Decision Support Tool, which considers twelve different areas of need, including mobility, nutrition and behaviour. The assessment examines the nature, complexity, intensity and unpredictability of your needs to determine whether you have a primary health need.

The multidisciplinary team will also share the information they hold about you or your relative’s care needs. The team will look at all your care needs and relate them to:

what help you need
how complex your needs are
how intense your needs can be
how unpredictable your needs are, including any risks to your health if the right care is not provided at the right time

Your eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare depends on your assessed needs, and not on any diagnosis or condition.

A primary health need is usually associated with a complex medical condition requiring substantial ongoing healthcare. Eligibility is not based on a specific diagnosis, disease, or where care is provided. If the assessment does not identify a primary health need, you will not be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

The Integrated Care Board follow national guidance and eligibility criteria throughout the assessment process. You will be fully informed and involved at every stage.

You are welcome to have support from a family member, friend, carer or other representative during the assessment which may be carried out via Microsoft Teams, and we encourage you to share your views during this meeting.

Your health needs are assessed against four key indicators:

Nature – the type of condition or treatment required.
Complexity – symptoms that interact and are difficult to manage or control.
Intensity – one or more health needs that are so severe they require regular intervention.
Unpredictability – unexpected changes in condition that are difficult to manage and may present a risk to you or others.

The multidisciplinary team will decide on a level of need for each domain of care within the Decision Support Tool document, complete something called a primary health needs test and make a recommendation on eligibility for funding. This recommendation is put forward to the Integrated Care Board and considered by an experienced, senior professional who ultimately decides whether or not you are eligible for funding.

If you are found eligible, NHS Central East Integrated Care Board will be responsible for arranging and funding a package of care that has been discussed and agreed with you and your family or representative.

Regular review of NHS Continuing Healthcare is undertaken by the All Age Continuing Care Team and if your needs change, then your eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare may also change.

NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist NHS Continuing Healthcare Decision Support Tool

Learn more about NHS Children and Young People’s Continuing Care (CYPCC)

Children and young people with complex healthcare needs may be eligible for additional health support, known as Children and Young People’s Continuing Care (CYPCC), until their eighteen birthday. This may be the result of:

Congenital conditions (of a condition present from birth)
Disability
Long term or life limiting conditions
Serious illness or injury

Some children and young people have very complex health needs. These needs may be too complex to be met by the services usually provided by GP practices, hospitals, or community services.

In these cases, extra health support may be needed. This extra support is called continuing care.

Continuing care for children with a Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough or Hertfordshire GP is managed by our Children and Young People’s Continuing Care Team. Information regarding how to access a continuing care package is described below.

How can I access Children and Young People’s Continuing Care?

A referral can be made by any health or social care professional who feels a Continuing Care package may be required, with the consent of the family or young person.

When a baby, child or young person is referred for an assessment, Continuing Care nurse assessors will first check whether a full assessment is needed. If it is, the nurse assessors will collect information about the child’s needs, including the advice of health and care professionals.

The Children and Young People’s Continuing Care National Framework provides guidance and a set of categories of needs (called ‘domains’) to support decisions on whether a child has a continuing care need.

An important part of the assessment is to make sure the child or young person and their family share their views and their wishes are considered.

The assessment will look at the care the child is currently receiving. However, the decision about whether a child or young person needs Continuing Care is based on the type and level of their needs. It is not based on the services already in place or on having a specific medical condition.

What happens after an assessment?

The Continuing Care assessors will share their findings with a panel of experts. The panel will look at the evidence and the assessor’s recommendation and decide whether the child or young person needs continuing care.

A decision is usually made 6-8 weeks from referral.

Depending on the decision, a package of care is then agreed. Some support may come from services the child already uses. Other support may need to be arranged specially.

We will review the care package regularly. This helps make sure the support continues to meet the child or young person’s changing needs as they grow.

A child or young person’s eligibility for Continuing Care can change if their needs change.

What if I am not happy with decisions made?

If you are not happy with the decision made regarding eligibility or the package of care offered, you can make a complaint via our Patient Experience Team

Visit the Gov.uk website to learn more about

Fast Track

Fast Track Pathway funding may be required if an appropriate clinician (a registered nursing or registered medical practitioner) considers a person is eligible for the immediate provision of NHS Continuing Healthcare because they have:

A rapidly deteriorating condition and
The condition may be entering a terminal phase

NHS Continuing Healthcare means a package of on-going care in your own home or care home that is dependent on your assessed needs and arranged and funded by the NHS.

Referral Process:

With your consent, an appropriate clinician will complete the Fast Track Pathway Tool to establish your eligibility for the immediate provision of NHS Continuing Healthcare. A member of your healthcare team should explain to you why a referral is being made and ask you about your care preferences i.e. a nursing home setting or care at home.

As part of this process, a clinical assessment will be completed alongside the Fast Track Pathway Tool which will be sent to NHS Central East Integrated Care Board to enable them to arrange a package of care for you as urgently as possible, should you meet the eligibility criteria.

The team will keep in touch with your or your relative, to ensure that your care package is meeting your needs. After the review of care needs, if appropriate, due to a stabilised condition, NHS Continuing Healthcare will arrange to begin the process of assessing whether you or your family member remains eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

Depending on level of needs, we may review your care and support requirements and eligibility throughout the period that you meet the Fast Track criteria.

NHS Continuing Healthcare Fast Track Tool

NHS-funded Nursing Care (FNC)

What is NHS-funded Nursing Care?

If you are not eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) and are resident in a care home with nursing, you may be eligible for NHS-funded Nursing Care (FNC). This type of funding is available for people who have registered nursing needs and are receiving their care in a care home with nursing. Please note however, that being a resident in a care home with nursing does not automatically indicate eligibility for NHS-funded Nursing Care.

If you are eligible for NHS-funded Nursing Care, it will be paid directly to the care home for care provided, supervised, or planned by, registered nurses that are employed by the care home. If you are self-funding your placement at the nursing home, these funds should be reflected in your care home fees.

Please talk to the manager of the home to discuss how NHS-funded Nursing Care affects your fees. If your placement is funded by Social Services, the NHS-funded Nursing Care payment forms part of the fees paid to the care home and does not affect or change any contribution from your pension or third party top up fees.

Personal Health Budgets (PHB)

What are Personal Health Budgets?

A personal health budget is an amount of money to support someone’s health and wellbeing needs, which is planned and agreed between the individual or their representative, and the Integrated Care Board and is a different way of spending health funding to meet the needs of an individual.

Personal health budgets are a way of personalising care, based around what matters to people and their individual strengths and needs. They give people more choice, control and flexibility over the care and support they receive.

A personal health budget may be used for a range of things to meet agreed health and wellbeing outcomes. This can include things like personal care and equipment. There are some restrictions on how the budget can be spent.

People who are eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare have a right to have a personal health budget. Your NHS Continuing Healthcare Assessor should explain this to you and if you are eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, you will receive support from the All Age Continuing Care Team to understand how a personal health budget might work for you.

Learn more about personal health budgets

Our Policies

The policies of the Integrated Care Board’s All Age Continuing Care Team are currently in development and will be published on the website once they have been formally ratified.

The NHS Continuing Healthcare website will be updated as developments happen.

Agreed Policies

CEICB AACC Equity & Choice Policy (450kB pdf)

Frequently asked questions

If you feel you may be eligible for either NHS Continuing Healthcare or NHS-funded nursing care and you are registered with a GP within the area served by Central East Integrated Care Board, you should speak to a health or social care professional involved in your care to ask them to consider carrying out an NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist. This checklist, along with a consent form should be sent to the All Age Continuing Care using the contact details on this website for the relevant area where the individual is registered with a GP.

There will be situations where practitioners decide it is not necessary to complete an NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist, including where it is clear to the practitioner that there is no need for NHS Continuing Healthcare at this time, or your needs are short term or temporary in nature and you have not yet reached your optimum potential.

If you have previously had a full NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment and it was decided that you are not eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, it would not be necessary for practitioners to complete another NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist if your needs have not changed since that assessment. You cannot complete an NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist yourself, and your family or friends cannot complete one for you. If you have no other health or care professionals involved in your care and you need help in obtaining an NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist, you should contact the relevant All Age Continuing Care Team where you are registered with a GP.

We recognise that NHS Continuing Healthcare can appear to be a complex and highly sensitive process and often affects people at a very uncertain stage of their lives.

Our team follows National Guidance to ensure that everyone has fair and consistent access to NHS Continuing Healthcare, regardless of where they live within the area served by Central East Integrated Care Board.

The All Age Continuing Care Team will ensure that the process of assessment of eligibility and decision-making is person-centred. This means ensuring you are at the heart of the assessment and care-planning process. It also means making sure that you have the opportunity to play a full role in the assessment process and receive the support to do this where needed. You could do this by asking a friend or relative to act as your representative and help explain your views.

NHS Central East Integrated Care Board is responsible for identifying someone to co-ordinate the assessment process and this person will be your main point of contact.

The assessment will, with your permission, involve contributions from a range of professionals involved in your care to build an overall picture of your needs. This is known as an ‘assessment of needs’. Your own views should be given appropriate weight alongside professional views to help achieve an accurate picture of your needs.

The Integrated Care Board would like to assure you that there is no requirement to instruct a solicitor or claim firm as NHS Continuing Healthcare is not a legal process and we would like to assure you that the NHS Continuing Healthcare process is applied fairly and openly to all.

This depends on the type of care and support you need and the availability of care in the area that you live in or wish to reside in. Nationally, there is a shortage of care workers, and this means that sometimes it can take time for the All Age Continuing Care Team to commission care. We might have to offer interim or temporary options for care if we are not able to commission the care that you require in an appropriate timeframe.

If you become eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, the NHS will be responsible for funding your care and support. Social services might still have some responsibility to provide services for you or your carers, such as carers assessments or support with parenting activities.

Sometimes, people who are not eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare have mixed or joint packages of care, where social services fund some of your care, and the NHS funds part of it, too. Where local social services arrange or fund care, they will usually do a financial assessment to decide if you must make any financial contribution.

Due to the restricted availability of care, the option provided will be the best that we are able to offer, maximising the use of available resources. This might mean that we might not be able to offer a particular provider or care setting, due to the wider constraints due to the national workforce shortages. You always have the right to decline care and to source and fund an alternative yourself should you decide to do so.

If you are found eligible for NHS funding for your care, you should have an initial review after 3 months, and a yearly review thereafter. The primary purpose of this review is to ensure your health and care needs are being met. Only where a material change in need has been identified that might impact on your eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare will a full re-assessment of your eligibility be carried out.

If you are unhappy with the decision the Integrated Care Board has made regarding your eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare, you have the right to formally appeal this decision. You must do this within 6 months of the receipt of your outcome letter, and you can contact us by phone, email or post to do this. Contact details can be found on this page.

You have the right to complain about your experience with the All Age Continuing Care Team.

You can also seek free, independent advice from Beacon CHC.

No. NHS Continuing Healthcare is not a legal process, and you are not required to have a solicitor or someone from a company who provides a paid service to represent you or your loved one through the NHS Continuing Healthcare process.

Having a solicitor or claims company representing you does not mean you are more likely to be eligible for funding, nor does it mean any appeal is more likely to be successful. In addition, it does not mean your case will be dealt with in a timelier way.

Your NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment process is the same, whether or not you have formal representation, such as a solicitor.

Please be aware that any benefits you currently received may be affected once you are in receipt of NHS Continuing Healthcare. It is advisable that you discuss this with the Department for Work and Pensions who will be able to provide further information. The helpline telephone number is 0800 731 0469 or further information can be found via the Department for Work and Pensions website.

Central East Integrated Care Board will only consider requests for assessments for a previously unassessed period of care from 1 April 2012 onwards.

PUPoC refer to a specific request to consider eligibility for a past period of care where there is evidence that the individual should have been considered for NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility, but was not considered at the time, and the individual has funded that care either in full, or in part.

Further guidance and information can be found via the Department of Health website.