Author and Publication
Author: Ben Slater, Registered Social Worker, Founder and Managing Director of Nellie Supports
Reviewed by: Kerry Slater, Director of Operations
Last reviewed: 21 July 2026
Citation
1. Department of Health and Social Care (2022) National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-framework-for-nhs-continuing-healthcare-and-nhs-funded-nursing-care
2. R v North and East Devon Health Authority, ex parte Coughlan [2000] 2 WLR 622.
3. Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Available at: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk
4. Data Protection Act 2018, c. 12. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/contents
Copywright
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This article does not constitute legal advice, clinical advice or a substitute for a decision-specific professional assessment. Where legislation, government guidance, court forms or external professional materials are referred to, those materials remain subject to their own copyright, licensing and re-use terms.
Abstract
This guide explains the evidence required for a claim covering a past period of NHS Continuing Healthcare. It covers why contemporaneous records are decisive, which records matter, how to obtain them years later, retention periods, what to do where records have been destroyed, the use of family evidence, and how findings are presented.
Evidence needed for a retrospective CHC claim
A retrospective claim is decided almost entirely on records written at the time. Nobody is assessed now for how they were then, so the case is built from documents rather than from an assessment visit.
Records decide these claims
There is no assessment of the person as they are now, because the question is what their needs were during a past period. That means the claim stands or falls on what was written contemporaneously by care staff, clinicians and anyone else involved. Where records are good, a strong case can be made. Where they are absent, it becomes very difficult.
Which records matter
Daily care notes, care plans and reviews, risk assessments, behaviour support plans, repositioning and skin charts, food and fluid records, weight records, medication administration records, incident and falls logs, night records, and GP, district nursing and hospital correspondence covering the period.
Obtaining records years later
Request from the care provider first. Where the provider has closed or will not engage, a subject access request under data protection law can be made by the person or by someone with authority to act, including a personal representative in the relevant circumstances. GP and hospital records are requested from those organisations separately.
Retention periods
Records are not kept indefinitely. Providers and NHS bodies retain records for defined periods and then destroy them, and those periods vary by record type. This is the practical reason to act promptly once a claim is contemplated, because the passage of time destroys the evidence rather than merely complicating access.
Where records have been destroyed
The claim becomes harder but not automatically hopeless. Establish what does survive, including GP and hospital records held separately from the care provider. Where records the Board itself should hold are missing, say so, since an absence caused by the body making the decision is a different matter from an absence caused by time.
Family evidence
Contemporaneous family material carries real weight: diaries, letters, emails to the provider or the local authority, complaints made at the time, photographs and financial records showing what care was purchased. Recollection alone is weaker, but a dated letter written at the time is contemporaneous evidence like any other.
Presenting the findings
Organise by the twelve care domains as they applied during the period, with every finding sourced to a record and a date, and then reason on nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability. Include invoices and contracts evidencing what was paid and when, since the claim is ultimately for reimbursement of those sums.
Key takeaway
These claims are won on contemporaneous records, so act promptly before retention periods expire. Request from the provider first and use a subject access request where necessary, gather GP and hospital records separately, and keep every invoice.
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Frequently asked questions
Is the person assessed now?
No. The question is what their needs were during the past period, so the claim is built from records written at the time rather than from a current assessment.
How do we get old care records?
Request them from the provider first. Where that fails, a subject access request can be made by the person or someone with authority to act, including a personal representative in the relevant circumstances.
What if the care home has closed?
Records may have transferred to a successor organisation or been archived. GP and hospital records are held separately and survive independently, so pursue those as well.
Related NHS Continuing Healthcare pages
These links take you to the most relevant Nellie Supports service page and to the supporting guides that explain the surrounding process.
Speak to an independent CHC specialist
Nellie Supports prepares independent needs evidence for NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments, reviews and appeals across England and Wales. Our reports are written by registered social workers on a permanent employed team, with internal peer review before release. Call 0333 987 5118 or send an enquiry and we will talk through where you are in the process.