UK - NHS Continuing Healthcare

August 8, 2012

In the UK your LO can have a Continuing Healthcare assessment and if they are

bad enough to meet the criteria you can be awarded Continuing Health Care and a

healthcare plan is agreed and paid for by the NHS. My husband was

fortunate to meet the criteria and we have been having help at home for the last

few months which has been great. We do have a couple of serious issues - they

will not pay for a close family friend who is great with and stays with him

1 day a week, so I pay him privately (they will only pay a care agency to look

after )? My friend is also going to look after when I go away for a

week, which he has done before. I can trust him to look after very well and

knows him and is ok with him. A Problem arose this week When I was told I

cannot arrange to pay for anyone privately, all care has to be via the NHS. But

they will not pay for full time care at home, only respite care in a care home.

But they cannot guarantee a place in a care home as most homes do not have

specific respite care beds in our area. I cannot look for a bed myself they

have to do it and let me know beds available if there are any, many of the homes

I would not let go to anyway there are only 3 I would accept and 2 of them

they wont consider. This means I cannot book a holiday in advance. So I am in a

catch 22 situation which is very frustrating. I am still going away in 2 weeks

time and my friend is going to look after at home regardless of what they

say and I have written to the Continuing Care Team and my local MP (Member of

Parliament) to try and get this problem resolved...my MP has told me today he is

sending my letter to the Chief Executive of NHS Warwickshire asking him to give

it priority, which is very encouraging. I am asking for a healthcare budget so

I can arrange the appropriate care for . I Just wondered if anyone else in

UK has a similar problem?

Sent from my iPad

August 8, 2012

Here in the US, we have a similar grading system for assistance from

Medicaid. There are a number of Activities of Daily Life (I thing 24 ADLs)

that the care recipient is tested on. The number of ADLs they cannot do or

cannot do well determines the level of assistance. I kept Mom home a lot

longer than anyone thought I should, but at least when she did enter the

nursing home, she qualified for full assistance. My fear was that Mom

would have a really good day the next time she was scheduled for testing

and that she would lose some assistance. Of course, financial need figures

in, too.

It might be interesting to find out how the criteria is scored and what

would happen if, when it is time to test him again, he had a really good

day and did a showtime routine for the testers.

Kate

> **

>

> In the UK your LO can have a Continuing Healthcare assessment and if they

> are bad enough to meet the criteria you can be awarded Continuing Health

> Care and a healthcare plan is agreed and paid for by the NHS. My husband

> was fortunate to meet the criteria and we have been having help at

> home for the last few months which has been great. We do have a couple of

> serious issues - they will not pay for a close family friend who is great

> with and stays with him 1 day a week, so I pay him privately (they

> will only pay a care agency to look after )? My friend is also going to

> look after when I go away for a week, which he has done before. I can

> trust him to look after very well and knows him and is ok with

> him. A Problem arose this week When I was told I cannot arrange to pay for

> anyone privately, all care has to be via the NHS. But they will not pay for

> full time care at home, only respite care in a care home. But they cannot

> guarantee a place in a care home as most homes do not have specific respite

> care beds in our area. I cannot look for a bed myself they have to do it

> and let me know beds available if there are any, many of the homes I would

> not let go to anyway there are only 3 I would accept and 2 of them

> they wont consider. This means I cannot book a holiday in advance. So I am

> in a catch 22 situation which is very frustrating. I am still going away in

> 2 weeks time and my friend is going to look after at home regardless

> of what they say and I have written to the Continuing Care Team and my

> local MP (Member of Parliament) to try and get this problem resolved...my

> MP has told me today he is sending my letter to the Chief Executive of NHS

> Warwickshire asking him to give it priority, which is very encouraging. I

> am asking for a healthcare budget so I can arrange the appropriate care for

> . I Just wondered if anyone else in UK has a similar problem?

>

> Sent from my iPad

>

--

Kate Knapp

UMN - OIT

" All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary. "

Sally Ride (first American woman in space)

August 8, 2012