There are few situations more daunting than facing hospital discharge, especially if you don’t know how – or if – your long-term care needs can be funded. Hospital stays can be emotionally draining. Being away from your usual environment, your friends and your family can feel isolating. While hospitals can give great care, ultimately, many people feel their futures are being taken out of their hands during their stay.
Medical decisions can be made quickly. The jargon around them can also be overwhelming. This includes when it comes to discussions of healthcare funding.
Know what you are entitled to.
Hospitals are under greater pressure than ever to make savings. One way to do this is by cutting the number of NHS Continuing Healthcare funding allocated.
NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC) funds healthcare for people with a ‘primary health need‘. This can include (but is not limited to), cases of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, MS, those who have experienced stroke and those who have a significant cognitive impairment.
To qualify for this, an assessment should take place. The assessment will take into consideration care needs, the nature of the need, unpredictability and so forth. This assessment should be done in hospital before you face discharge. Everyone has the right to a preliminary assessment – and you, and your family can be present for this. Insist that you, and your family are consulted to ensure the process has your full involvement.
What should I do if the hospital says myself, or a relative, don’t qualify or are assessed as ineligible?
The hospital should carry out an initial assessment. NHS Continuing Healthcare funding is not means-tested – this means that if you have savings or a house then the hospital shouldn’t ask about this. It just isn’t relevant and should not stand in your way of potential qualification for NHS CHC.
The focus should be on a primary health need – and what that constitutes. It is that alone which determines whether someone qualifies for funding.
You – and your family – also have a right to be present at the assessment. There is a right to be fully involved within the process. You also have the right to view any documentation from the assessment. If it took place without your knowledge, request to see it. Be prepared and ready to challenge anything which may be documented that you do not agree with.
So what should I be paying?
Until you have had a full assessment then nothing. Your care should be funded by the NHS. It is only after the assessment, and if someone has been deemed not to meet the criteria for NHS Continuing Healthcare, that they should pay for the costs of their care.
If you have concerns that you or a relative are being discharged without NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding when you may qualify, contact us today.