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NHS Continuing Healthcare
The Independent Review Panel Explained
Who convenes it, what it tests, and how to prepare
What is the Independent Review Panel?
The Independent Review Panel is convened by NHS England when local resolution has not resolved an NHS Continuing Healthcare challenge. It reviews whether the Integrated Care Board followed proper procedure and applied the National Framework correctly. It is not a full rehearing of the case from scratch.
Plain English
For families and professionals
England and Wales
National coverage
Registered professionals
Written and reviewed
Families often arrive at the panel stage expecting a fresh assessment. Understanding what the panel actually tests, procedure and Framework application, is what makes preparation effective. This guide describes the system in England. Wales operates its own Continuing NHS Healthcare framework through health boards.
When the panel becomes available
The panel stage applies when:
- Local resolution with the Integrated Care Board has been completed and has not resolved the challenge
- The dispute concerns eligibility, the process followed, or how the Framework was applied
- The family asks NHS England to convene a review
How to prepare
Preparing for the panel:
- Assemble the bundle: the care records, the completed Decision Support Tool, the decision letter and the local resolution correspondence
- Set out precisely where the process departed from the Framework, with references
- Set out the domains where the scoring departs from the records
- Decide who will speak for the family and what the key points are
- Prepare for questions, and expect the panel to have read everything
Where people often go wrong
- Treating the panel as a fresh assessment rather than a review of procedure and Framework application
- Arriving with feeling but without an organised bundle
- Raising every grievance rather than the points the panel can actually act on
- Assuming the panel decides funding on the day: its findings feed the decision that follows
- Treating the panel as a fresh assessment rather than a review of procedure and Framework application
- Arriving with feeling but without an organised bundle
- Raising every grievance rather than the points the panel can actually act on
- Assuming the panel decides funding on the day: its findings feed the decision that follows
What the panel does
The panel examines how the decision was reached: whether the assessment process followed the National Framework, and whether the Framework was applied correctly to the person's needs. Its power lies in scrutinising the ICB's work, which is why panel preparation is built around procedure and evidence rather than fresh argument.
Preparation is bundle work. A panel that can see, on paper, exactly where the process or the scoring went wrong is a panel that can act on it.
A social work led multidisciplinary practice
Nellie Supports is a social work led multidisciplinary specialist practice working across England and Wales, operating through a permanent, full-time employed team that has completed more than 11,000 assessments. Our NHS Continuing Healthcare work prepares and presents the evidence of need at every stage of the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the panel independent of the ICB?
Yes. It is convened by NHS England, separately from the Integrated Care Board whose decision is being reviewed.
Can the family bring someone to the panel?
Yes. Families can be supported and represented at the panel, and a representative who knows the bundle makes a practical difference.
What happens after the panel?
The panel's findings feed the decision that follows. If procedure has still failed, the remaining route is the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
This guide is general information about NHS Continuing Healthcare in England, not legal advice, and does not create a professional relationship. Nellie Supports provides independent social work assessment, evidence and advocacy support. We do not provide regulated legal advice, and where a legal remedy is needed we will say so and support your solicitor's work.