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: 20 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. Department of Health and Social Care (2022) NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist.
3. Department of Health and Social Care (2022) NHS Continuing Healthcare Decision Support Tool.
4. Care Act 2014, c. 23. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/contents
Copywright
Copyright © 2026 Nellie Supports Ltd. All rights reserved.
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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 who is permitted to complete an NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist in England, the training expected of them, the settings in which a Checklist is usually completed, how to request one where none has been offered, and what to do where the person completing it does not know the individual well enough to record their needs accurately.
Who can complete an NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist
The Checklist is the entry point to NHS Continuing Healthcare, and a surprisingly wide range of professionals can complete one. Knowing who can do it, and what they are expected to know first, makes it far easier to ask for one and to judge whether the one you have been given was completed properly.
Who is permitted to complete one
The Framework allows a broad range of health and social care staff to complete a Checklist, including registered nurses, social workers, doctors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, discharge coordinators and care home managers. The requirement is not a particular profession but that the person has been trained in the use of the tool and understands the principles of NHS Continuing Healthcare. This breadth is deliberate, because the Checklist is a screening step designed to be used widely rather than a specialist assessment.
What training is expected
Integrated Care Boards are responsible for ensuring that those completing Checklists in their area are trained and supported to do so. In practice the standard varies considerably. A Checklist completed by someone unfamiliar with the tool tends to show characteristic weaknesses, such as domains left blank, levels recorded from how the person presented on the day, or no reference to what would happen without the current care. If you see those features, it is reasonable to ask what training the person completing it had received.
Where Checklists are completed
A Checklist can be completed in hospital, in a care home, in the person's own home, or occasionally by telephone where the person completing it has sufficient knowledge. Hospital completion is very common, often as part of discharge planning, and this is where the quality problems most often arise, because the person may be assessed at a point of acute illness or unusual dependency and by staff who have known them only a few days.
Knowing the person well enough
The most important practical question is not the completer's profession but whether they know enough about the person's day to day needs. Someone who has met the individual once, without access to care records, cannot reliably describe night time needs, behavioural patterns, fluctuating presentations or the intervention required to maintain stability. Where that is the position, the sensible step is to provide written information before the Checklist is finalised rather than to challenge it afterwards.
Can a family member complete one
No. A Checklist must be completed by an appropriately trained health or social care professional. Families can, and should, contribute information to it. They can also request that a Checklist be completed, and that request should not be refused simply because it comes from a relative rather than a professional.
How to request a Checklist
Ask the professional most involved in the person's care, which may be a hospital discharge team, a community nurse, a GP, a social worker or a care home manager. If nobody takes it forward, contact the Integrated Care Board's continuing healthcare team directly and ask for a Checklist to be arranged. Put the request in writing and keep the date, because that date matters if the process later runs slowly.
When a Checklist can be skipped
There are two situations. A Checklist can be bypassed where it is already obvious that a full assessment is needed, which avoids a pointless screening step. It is not used at all on the Fast Track route, which has its own pathway tool completed by an appropriate clinician. Outside those situations, the Checklist is the normal entry point and should not be omitted as a way of avoiding an assessment.
If the completed Checklist looks wrong
Ask for a copy and read it against the descriptors. If domains have been recorded at levels the evidence does not support, you can ask the Integrated Care Board to review the outcome, or ask for a fresh Checklist where the person's condition has changed. Because the threshold to proceed is deliberately low, correcting one or two domains is frequently enough to trigger a full assessment.
Key takeaway
A wide range of trained health and social care professionals can complete a Checklist, but the person doing it needs enough knowledge of the individual to record needs accurately. Families cannot complete one but can request one and should contribute evidence to it before it is finalised.
Frequently asked questions
Can a care home manager complete a Checklist?
Yes, provided they have been trained in the use of the tool. Care home managers frequently complete Checklists and often know the person's day to day needs better than anyone else involved, which can make the record more accurate rather than less.
Can I ask for a Checklist myself?
Yes. You can ask any professional involved in the person's care, or contact the Integrated Care Board's continuing healthcare team directly. Put the request in writing and keep a note of the date, since that date matters if the process later runs slowly.
Does a GP have to be involved?
No. A GP can complete a Checklist but there is no requirement for GP involvement. What matters is that the person completing it is trained and has sufficient knowledge of the individual's needs.
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.